This is the moment a sexologist mother and boyfriend were caught on camera at a petrol station before they were accused of abandoning their two children in a forest. The French boys, aged three and five, are believed to have thought they were on a treasure hunt when it is alleged they were left in the wilderness by their mother Marine Rousseau, 41, and her boyfried Marc Ballabriga, 55.
Rousseau and Ballabriga are accused of driving the youngsters more than 1,200 miles from Colmar, France, to the wooded coastal region of Comporta and Alcácer do Sal in Portugal, just south of the capital Lisbon.
In chilling video footage shot before the family arrived at the woodland, the young children can be seen playing in the back of the car blissfully unaware of the drama that awaits them. Authorities rescued the two children after they were found alone by locals on Tuesday May 19.
Rousseau and Ballbriga were stopped by Portuguese police (GNR) at around 3.30pm yesterday (May 21) after a French-speaking pensioner became suspicious they may be the pair being hunted over the abandonment of the two boys.
Broadcaster CNN Portugal reports the couple were found enjoying pastries and lattes in a cafe around 120 miles from where the two boys were found.
It’s understood the children’s biological father reported the boys missing on May 11 when they disappeared from their home in eastern France. Rousseau is reported to have left another 16-year-old child at home before she made the car journey to Portugal.
Rousseau and Ballabriga, 55, are suspected of domestic violence and child abuse and could be extradited to face proceedings in France.
On clips posted on social media, Rossseau describes herself as a “sexologist who helps traumatised individuals to regain serenity and sexual fulfilment”.
According to local media reports in Portugal the two childremn have been released from hospital after being assessed.
The Portuguese GNR (National Republican Guard) described the French couple as “not very co-operative” since their arrests, but GNR police spokesman Carlos Canatario told Portuguese TV broadcaster SIC: “They’re not being hostile, they’re simply being silent and very reserved.”
The couple are due to appear in court in Setúbal, Portugal, at a later date.