The 41-year-old mother of the three and five-year-old brothers and the 55-year-old stepfather are said to have abandoned the children on Tuesday on a remote country road near Alcácer do Sal, southeast of Lisbon (symbolic image).Image: keystone
May 23, 2026, 2:44 p.mMay 23, 2026, 2:44 p.m
In the case of the alleged abandonment of two French small children in Portugal, a judge has ordered pre-trial detention for the mother and stepfather, according to consistent media reports. The two Frenchmen are strongly suspected of serious bodily harm and child abandonment, said the responsible judge António Fialho at the court in the city of Setúbal. Mother and stepfather come from Colmar in Alsace, just a few kilometers from the German border.
The 41-year-old mother of the three and five-year-old brothers and the 55-year-old stepfather are said to have abandoned the children on Tuesday on a remote country road near Alcácer do Sal, southeast of Lisbon. A driver noticed the crying and confused children. He took her into his care and called the police. The mother and stepfather were arrested on Thursday following a nationwide manhunt.
The boys are now being placed in a French-speaking foster family, several Portuguese media outlets reported unanimously. They were to stay there until Portugal had decided on a request from France for the brothers’ return. The biological father is said to have already set off on his journey to Portugal.
The mother and stepfather are said to have claimed psychological problems
The state TV channel RTP and the newspaper “Correio da Manha” reported, citing sources in the Portuguese National Guard of the Republic (GNR), that the mother and stepfather had agreed during a prisoner transport to claim a mental disorder in court. A police officer who was guarding the two Frenchmen during the trip on Friday heard this. While the mother remained silent in court, the stepfather appeared more cooperative. The court in Setúbal did not initially comment on these reports.
Mother sex therapist – stepfather ex-policeman
The woman trades herself online as a sex therapist. According to Portuguese media reports, the man is said to be a former French police officer who left the service due to depression. LRTP reported that he was previously convicted of domestic violence against his first wife in 2010. He met the children’s mother “a few months ago”.
The French newspaper “Le Parisien” wrote that the former gendarme was sentenced to nine months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for harassment and violence against the mother of his daughter. He posted conspiracy theory and anti-Semitic content on his Facebook page.
Two arrest warrants from France
The GNR spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Canatário, said in an RTP interview that there were also two European arrest warrants from France against the two Frenchmen for child abduction and neglect of another 16-year-old son of the mother.
The two would therefore have to appear before an appeals court that is responsible for such foreign applications. Detention could also be ordered there. Canatário said the two had not shown any willingness to cooperate when questioned by the police, without giving any details.
The mother is said to have kidnapped the children
Until now, the mother had custody and the father had visitation rights for the boys, as the French newspaper “Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace” reported, citing the Colmar public prosecutor, Jean Richert. The biological father reported the mother and children missing to the police in Colmar. People there were already worried because the children had stopped coming to kindergarten. An investigation has been initiated in France on suspicion of abandoning minors, reported “Le Parisien”. (sda/dpa)