The father of an eight-year-old girl found dead after falling from a block of flats last year is suing Hoogeveen town council for not doing enough to prevent her death.

The man disagrees with the public prosecution department’s decision to close the investigation into Sharleyne’s death in June 2015, RTL news says on Wednesday.

A post mortem showed the girl had fallen from an upper floor of the building. The girl’s mother was suspected of having a role in the death but the department decided not to prosecute her because of a lack of evidence.

Social workers

The father blames the town council’s youth social work department for failing to intervene despite many warning signs the girl was being neglected.

Youth social services were transferred to local authority responsibility at the beginning of last year and this is the first case of its kind.

His lawyer Liesbeth Poortman told RTL news there is evidence the mother was suicidal and that the girl ‘was left alone for days at a time’. There were also strong suspicions the girl was being sexually abused, she said.

‘Neighbours reported hearing her screaming for help in the middle of the night. Yet despite this, social workers did nothing for three years,’ Poortman said.

In addition, the authorities had not properly checked the balustrade for evidence of the girl climbing over herself, Poortman said.