Missouri Foster Mother Arrested Over Allegations of Abuse and Attempted Child-for-Monkey Trade

Brenda Deutsch, 70, is in custody as authorities investigate claims of physical abuse, neglect, and a potential human trafficking case involving a teenage foster child.

Brenda Ruth Deutsch, a longtime foster mother in Missouri, has been charged with multiple felonies, including child abuse, neglect, and endangerment, and is currently held on a $250,000 bond.
Investigators are exploring allegations that Deutsch attempted to trade a teenage foster child for an exotic monkey, with at least two witnesses providing corroborating accounts.
Court documents detail years of abuse, including physical punishment with wooden objects, shoes, and paddles, as well as neglect, such as sending the child to live in unsanitary and unsupervised conditions in Texas.
Authorities have received over 200 hotline complaints about Deutsch’s foster home spanning more than a decade, raising concerns of systemic failures in Missouri’s child welfare oversight.
The investigation is ongoing, with officials anticipating additional charges as new evidence and testimonies regarding potential trafficking and broader patterns of abuse emerge.

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