A French sexologist mother, Marine Rousseau, 41, allegedly abandoned her two young children in a forest in Portugal before being found at a cafe with her partner. During a court appearance in Setubal, she bizarrely sang opera while her partner, Marc Ballabriga, 55, repeatedly shouted 'I love you' in French.
The couple, from Colmar, France, are accused of abandoning the children, aged three and five, in a forest near Alcacer do Sal and Comporta on Tuesday. Police located the parents at a cafe around 48 hours later, nearly 125 miles away from where the children were found.
The children were discovered crying and alone on a rural road by a local bakery worker, who alerted authorities. The couple allegedly blindfolded the boys for a hunting game, telling them they could remove the blindfolds only after finding knives buried in the dirt. They left the children with a change of clothes, two pieces of fruit, and two bottles of water.
Rousseau and Ballabriga were detained on Thursday and appeared in court on Friday. Ballabriga reportedly acted violently in custody, shouting at officers and attempting to damage his cell, while Rousseau spent hours singing. The couple faces charges of domestic violence and child abandonment.
The children's biological father reported them missing on May 11 after they vanished from their home in Colmar. Rousseau is also believed to have abandoned her 16-year-old child at home in France before the journey to Portugal. The couple had been declared fugitives by France prior to their arrest.
Rousseau, who describes herself as a 'sexologist who helps traumatised individuals to regain serenity and sexual fulfilment' on social media, and Ballabriga await a judge's decision on whether they will be remanded to prison. The children have been placed into temporary care.
