Woman rescued at New Hampshire Olive Garden says man forced her to marry him and performed satanic ritual

News Reporter

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. —

A New Hampshire man is accused of forcing a woman into marriage and telling her they were being followed by a satanic cult.

Daniel Ouellet, 47, is facing felony charges after police found him and the woman at an Olive Garden.

The case triggered a shelter-in-place order over the weekend in nearby Lee after police learned that Ouellet had weapons.

According to court documents, police in Newington were dispatched Saturday morning to an Olive Garden restaurant on a report that a woman was being held against her will.

The report came from Pennsylvania State Police, who said they got a call from the woman’s mother after she tracked her phone to the parking lot. When police arrived, officers saw cigarette burns on the woman’s leg, according to court documents.

Investigators said they found a Satanic Bible, a sweatshirt and a bag in Ouellet’s car.

The woman later told officers that Ouellet allegedly had a gun and forced her to marry him against her will a few days earlier. According to court documents, the woman told investigators that Ouellet would not let her use her phone and told her he would hurt her family if she left.

Court paperwork said that on Friday, Ouellet made the woman drive him around with a gun pointed at her, saying a religious cult was following them. She told police that while they were in Kittery on Saturday morning, he grabbed her wrist and sliced her hand for what he said was a satanic ritual.

In court Monday, Ouellet denied the allegations.

“If you talk to anybody that knows me, I’m not a physical man,” he said. “I’m very pristine and, you know, forcing her into marriage, that’s completely against my religious belief. I totally believe in free will, and I have never been aggressive with her in ways that were described on that paper.”

Police said more charges are likely. Ouellet has a criminal record that includes domestic violence and DWI charges.

Ouellet was ordered held on preventive detention, and the woman was given a protective order.