A French mother accused of abandoning her two young children in a forest in Portugal has been sent to the country's most notorious women's prison. Marine Rousseau, 41, and her partner Marc Ballabriga, 55, are charged with leaving Barthélémy, five, and Zacharie, three, near Alcácer do Sal in Portugal.
Pretrial Detention
Rousseau was transferred to Tires Prison in Lisbon for pretrial detention on Saturday, according to Portugal's Lusa News Agency. The sexologist will be confined to her cell and prohibited from contacting other inmates. Ballabriga has been sent to Setúbal Prison.
Tires, often featured in true-crime documentaries, houses around 450 inmates and is associated with murderers and child abusers. The facility includes a daycare for pregnant inmates, a school, a hairdresser, and areas for crafts, rug making, and weaving.
The Alleged Abandonment
According to reports, Rousseau and Ballabriga blindfolded the children and told them they could only remove the blindfolds once they found a buried knife. Barthélémy dug up the knife after several minutes, but when they took off their blindfolds, their parents were gone. The children had only a change of clothing, two bottles of water, cookies, a pear, and an orange. They were told they were playing a game to find a hidden toy.
The terrified youngsters were found by Eugenia and Artur Quintas wandering the rural roads of Monte Novo do Sul at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Artur told SIC Notícias that the children were screaming and crying as they walked along National Road 253. The couple took the brothers to a police station, and after receiving medical clearance, they were placed in foster care.
Investigation and Arrest
The children's father reported them missing to French police, accusing Rousseau of child abduction. Rousseau's family reported her missing on May 11. Prosecutor Jean Richert told AFP that her disappearance was surprising because she had no reason to be absent and did not notify anyone. Authorities tracked her movements through southern France, Spain, and Portugal but could not contact her.
Rousseau and Ballabriga were arrested while sitting at a café terrace near Fátima on Thursday. Before being sent to prison, the couple could be heard shouting at each other from their separate cells, according to Correio da Manhã. The Setúbal District Court ordered pretrial detention due to flight risk concerns. Ballabriga, a former French gendarmerie officer, is also accused of aggravated assault. His final social media videos before arrest show him wandering fields, filming animals, and staring at the sky.
