Modesta could have been a victim of paedophilia

Sunday newspaper Illum this week went to Gozo to seek further information on the mysterious disappearance of six-year-old Modesta Cefai, who disappeared in the summer of 1911.

But since the incident occurred such a long time ago, information is limited to old police reports and recollections of old people who remember what their relatives had told them about the case when they were still children.

Some of these told Illum that Modesta could have been a victim of paedophilia. Rumour has it that a family friend of the Cefai family used to give sweets to Modesta on multiple occasions.

According to these Gozitans, back then people never thought about paedophilia or that certain behaviour could be wrong.

If these rumours are true, this could also mean that Modesta would have been comfortable around this man and that anyone who might have seen them together on the day of her disappearance would not have considered it unusual.

The police had received at least seven reports from people who claimed to have seen Modesta on the day of her disappearance. While they investigated every report separately, they did not manage to find any substantial evidence.

ILLUM received a lot of its information about this case thanks to research carried out by Joe Azzopardi, a lecturer at the University of Malta and the grandson of Modesta’s sister.

“My dream has always been to find Modesta’s remains and give her the burial she deserves in the family tomb,” Azzopardi said.

Read the full feature story in Sunday’s edition of ILLUM.