In France, the age of consent is 15. When Emmanuel’s parents found out that he and Brigitte were romantically involved, they tried to separate them by shipping him to a school in Paris.

Outside, as the children played and laughed in the yard, Brobst held back tears. "I just turned 65," she said. "And now I've got three kids under the age of 12 to be responsible for. So I'm just ...