Marine Rousseau, 41, is accused of leaving her two sons to fend for themselves in the woods after allegedly leaving them blindfolded and telling them they were playing a 'game'09:38, 26 May 2026A 41-year-old mum accused of abandoning her two young sons is being held in a 'tough' women's prison where inmates deliberately start fires.Marine Rousseau and her boyfriend Marc Ballabriga, 55, are facing charges of endangerment and abandonment after a five-year-old boy and his three-year-old brother were discovered walking along a rural road in the Monte Novo do Sul, a remote area between Comporta and Alcácer do Sal in Portugal.According to authorities, the boys were left blindfolded in a woods near an abandoned bus stop, and had only a couple of pieces of fruit and a bottle of water with them. A local baker found the children and immediately alerted the police, who are being placed with a foster family until they are returned to France.READ MORE: Father of young boys found 'abandoned in Portuguese woods' by his ex-wife breaks silenceREAD MORE: Parents who 'abandoned kids in woods in sick game' found sipping drinks at cafeThe pair were arrested by the Portuguese National Guard (GNR) on Thursday, while sitting 'calmly' at a café terrace near the pilgrimage town of Fátima, around 120 miles from where the children were found.On Saturday, Rousseau sang to herself as she was brought into court. An investigating judge remanded remanded to the Tires women's prison, located about 12 miles west of Lisbon.The notorious multi-security prison houses several hundred inmates, including both pre-trial detainees and convicted offenders, and handles many of Portugal's most severe criminal cases. It also has a history of safety issues, which have endangered prisoners and guards alike.Last year, an inmate intentionally started a fire in her cell that resulted in five female officers being rushed to hospital for smoke inhalation. The prisoner involved had recently been transferred to Tires after being involved in previous assaults at another facility.That same year, Portuguese broadcaster RTP told of two suspected drug overdoses at the facility, including one which resulted in the death of an inmate. The chief prison officer was dismissed in light of the reports, pending an investigation.Unions also reported more than a dozen attacks on guards by inmates in 2024. Other past incidents at the facility include a widespread Covid outbreak in 2020 that infected over 120 inmates, as well as the deaths of prisoners in their cells in 2018 and 2021.Article continues belowRousseau will be remanded at Tires until her next court appearance. The 41-year-old, who divorced from the boys' father several years ago, promotes herself online as a "sexologist" who can help "all people who have suffered trauma to regain serenity and sexual satisfaction".Ballabriga is a former police officer who was convicted in 2010 of harassment and domestic violence against the mother of his daughter, according to French media. He is being held at the Setúbal Prison.