PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A North Smithfield woman is facing a federal charge after she allegedly moved her five children out of the country without their father’s knowledge.

Jessica Abreu, 33, was arraigned Friday on a charge of international parental kidnapping, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha announced Monday .

Abreu, according to court documents, “abruptly and without permission” moved her five children, all under the age of 16, to Alabama in December 2021.

The following May, one of the children texted their father, Abreu’s ex-husband, that she would miss him, Cunha said. The father then learned that Abreu had taken all five children to Tanzania.

The father had a scheduled visitation in June 2022, which Abreu missed, along with a court hearing in July 2022.

In August, a judge signed an order giving joint custody of the children to Abreu and her ex-husband and establishing Rhode Island as their “home state.” However, by taking the kids to Tanzania and not returning, Abreu was found to be in violation of that order and the father was given sole legal custody, according to Cunha.

Last month, Abreu and all five children flew into Los Angeles, where the FBI and R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) were waiting. She was arrested, while the kids were reunited with their father.

Following her arraignment, Abreu was released on unsecured bond with a GPS tracking device.

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