Joey Haarhoff and Gert van Rooyen. Photo: File
A petition to assign a new investigating officer to the infamous Gert van Rooyen paedophile case has been gathering momentum.
This as the petition has garnered almost 2,000 signatures in less than a month, reports Pretoria Moot Rekord.
“It was amazing to see how many people are still interested in a case that is three decades old by now,” said Rina Moolman.
ALSO READ: Child porn found on KZN paedophile’s computer depicts torture, court hears
Rina Moolman is the pseudonym for a Moot resident who does not want her real name to be known out of concern for her privacy.
Moolman started the petition on January 1 on Facebook.
The Van Rooyen case is probably South Africa’s most notorious unsolved criminal case.
The aim of the petition is to request that a new investigating officer be appointed to investigate the case.
Moolman claims she has the support of some of the victims’ parents.
By this week, the petition had already garnered 1,492 signatures. Moolman added she had also collected about 500 hand-written signatures.
“I started getting involved in the case after I attended an event during which I met one of the missing girls’ parents,” she said.
“My heart goes out to the parents. It is terribly sad for me to know that they still do not know what happened to their children after 30 years. There has been no closure for them.
“To hear someone say they are at such an advanced age and still just want to know where their child is, is one of the worst things to hear.”
She said there was no specific closing date for the petition; adding it would be submitted to police minister Bheki Cele when it gathered “enough signatures”.
“It is time we find out what happened all those years ago,” she said.
“The current investigating officer is brilliant, but also works on other similar cases, which made me wonder – how does she determine what is important?”
“How do you drop the case of a child, who only went missing very recently, to find someone who went missing 30 years ago?” she asked.
She said another police officer with a fresh pair of eyes should be assigned to the case.
“I have heard many people say they have evidence regarding the case, but are unsure as to whom to contact.
“We need someone new who can gather this type of evidence and thoroughly analyse it.”
It was believed that Gert van Rooyen and a female accomplice, Joey Haarhoff, were responsible for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of six girls who went missing in the 1980s.
The girls were aged between nine and 14.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.