The public prosecutor wants the father of manager ‘t Sloeberhuisje to be tried for manslaughter

The public prosecutor wants to prosecute Roxan V. for manslaughter of a six-month-old baby. The man shook the girl so hard in February 2022 that she died.

Today at 07:03

After more than two years of investigation, the public prosecutor’s office, which does not wish to communicate further about the contents, has completed a final claim in the case surrounding the ‘t Sloeberhuisje daycare center. In February 2022, a six-month-old girl died in Ghent University Hospital from brain trauma, a day after being shaken in the daycare center ‘t Sloeberhuisje in Mariakerke. The police arrested Roxan V., the manageress’s father, immediately after the facts. The man worked as a childcare worker and was alone in the daycare at the time of the incident. At first he denied all allegations, later he amended his statement.

According to judicial sources in the Newspaper the public prosecutor’s office wants to prosecute the man for manslaughter and bring him to the court of assizes. That would mean he intended to kill the baby when he shook it. For his daughter, Davina V., the public prosecutor is requesting another correctional process for unintentional manslaughter. According to judicial sources, the public prosecutor’s office blames her for not taking sufficient responsibility for her daycare and the children. She would have known that her father often lost his temper and was not ‘suitable’ to look after the children alone. Jeroen Van Kerrebroeck, lawyer for Davina V., did not wish to respond on Friday.

The case may also be getting worse for the Growing Up Agency: the public prosecutor’s office wants to take the agency to court for negligence, because it allegedly did not take measures quickly enough. In 2016, the agency already received disturbing signals about the alleged serious aggression.

“We did not expect this,” says Kris Vincke, lawyer for Roxan V. “Manslaughter means that the public prosecutor believes that my client had the intention to kill the baby. That was not the case. It seems to us that the public prosecutor’s office mainly wants to set an example to society with this claim. At the time of the facts there were many similar cases. Now people apparently think that a signal should be given.” The council chamber will make a decision on May 17.

Father and daughter were both locked up in prison for a time during the investigation. Davina was released shortly afterwards, but was sent back to prison about four months later. She was later released under conditions. Her father is now also free under conditions.