New Hampshire man took woman to Olive Garden after forcing her to marry him at gunpoint, told cops he was a 'really safe guy': Police

A New Hampshire man landed behind bars after police responded to reports of a woman being held against her will in an Olive Garden parking lot.

Daniel Ouellet, 47, is currently held at the Rockingham County Department of Corrections following his June 6 arrest. Court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show the Newington Police Department took Ouellet into custody after authorities received a report from a woman claiming she was being detained against her will.

Police say the case began when a mother contacted Pennsylvania State Police after tracking her daughter’s phone to an Olive Garden restaurant in Newington, New Hampshire.

Pennsylvania authorities requested a welfare check on the woman, who was inside the Olive Garden when Newington police officers arrived around 11:30 a.m. When the woman spotted the police cruisers, she ran out of the restaurant in tears — and officers noticed cigarette burns on her legs.

In the affidavit, Ouellet referred to the woman as his “wife” and told police that “her mother was attempting to force her to join a religious cult back in Pennsylvania, and she was fed up with dealing with it.” That, he said, was the reason she was crying. He described himself as a “really safe guy” and identified the alleged “cult” as the “Stars and the Free Masons.” He also told police the two had married on June 1.

When officers informed Ouellet he would not be allowed to speak with his “wife,” police said he grew “nervous.” Officers then questioned him about why the pair had been moving between various locations since their marriage rather than staying at his trailer home — and Ouellet reportedly gave inconsistent answers.

When police spoke to the woman, her account told a starkly different story. She told police that Ouellet had contacted her and threatened to harm her family if she refused to come to New Hampshire to meet him. Once she arrived, Ouellet pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and told her they were going to the town hall in Lee, New Hampshire, to get married. If she refused, he warned “he will make her pay.” Ouellet also allegedly took her phone. She said she remained with Ouellet at his trailer in a Lee campground until June 5.

According to the affidavit, on June 5 Ouellet told the woman that “the religious cults were following them” as she drove them around — including into Maine — while he pointed his gun at her from the passenger seat. They eventually returned to New Hampshire. That Saturday morning, the woman told police, Ouellet sliced her hand with a box cutter as part of a “satanic ritual.”

Police recovered a copy of the Satanic Bible and other items from Ouellet’s car. He was arrested at the Olive Garden on June 6 and charged with using a deadly weapon to prevent someone from reporting a crime. The woman also sought an emergency protective order against Ouellet, which a judge granted. Newington police said additional charges were likely forthcoming.

Appearing via video in court on Monday, Ouellet told the judge, “If you talk to anybody that knows me, I’m not a physical man.” He continued, “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.”

Ouellet remains held at the Rockingham County Department of Corrections on preventive detention. His next court date has not been made public.