NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – The South Florida mother who was arrested for abducting her two biological children went before a judge on Wednesday.
Jemima Gutierrez appeared calm and collected in court, just one day after her arrest.
A Miami-Dade County Police Detective was also part of the hearing.
The 24-year old woman is accused of sparking a countywide manhunt that spanned several days for the children, ages four and six, who were reported missing.
Gutierrez is their biological mother does not have custody.
In social media correspondences with Local 10 News, she claimed the situation was necessary to protect her children from allegations of abuse, which is something neither police nor the Florida Department of Children and Families has confirmed.
The children disappeared Sunday from a church in Southwest Miami-Dade while in the care of their step-mother.
Police tracked down the trio at a family member’s home in North Miami on Tuesday.
After confirming the children were safe, police arrested Gutierrez and charged her with two counts of kidnaping and interfering with custody.
She was ordered to stay at least 500 feet away from the children, their home and their school.