Brenda Deutsch: Foster mother who allegedly abused children for decades tried to trade child for monkey

Years of abuse and systematic failure for hundreds of minors has been unearthed after a woman in the United States was jailed for allegedly trying to trade a foster child for a monkey.

Missouri woman, Brenda Deutsch, has reportedly spent decades fostering over 200 children and has been accused of multiple cases of horrific physical and mental abuse toward the youngsters under her care.

Winfield police have charged Ms Deutsch, 70, with felony counts of neglect, child abuse and child endangerment after they located a missing child in Texas who explained their plight.

During her court appearance, prosecutors alleged the abuse occurred between September 1, 2022, and January 1, 2025.

Texas-based news channel KBTX reported that Ms Deutsch allegedly mentally, physically and emotionally abused her foster child, including hitting the child in the face, causing injury and bleeding.

“It wasn’t isolated. It was a culture of abuse and neglect,” said Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood.

According to court documents, the victim told investigators she was hit with a paddle, smacked and faced other abuse and also admitted she had seen other family members being abused.

“Emotional abuse, physical abuse and also a level of neglect,” Mr Wood said.

“We had some information children were hoarding food, which is always something you look for.”

Ms Deutsch is also accused of throwing her foster children’s clothes away and taking them for evaluation for psychological issues whether they had symptoms or not, and of sending children to residential treatment facilities as a form of punishment.

According to court documents, in February 2025, the victim’s school district in Missouri reported that a child was missing from school and was reportedly in Texas.

Mr Wood said Ms Deutsch sent the child to live in a house in Texas, but the reason why is unclear; however, witnesses told authorities that it was because Ms Deutsch and the victim weren’t getting along, and it would enable Ms Deutsch to exchange the victim for a monkey.

Mr Wood said the adults in the Texas home were disabled and not able to take care of the child, so she was not being adequately supervised.

“From what we can tell, the child was taking care of them,” Mr Wood said.

The home also was reportedly in “deplorable conditions” with pipes that had frozen and burst.

Texas Child Protection Services intervened and removed the child from the home. The victim is still in custody in the state of Texas.

Mr Wood said that on further investigation, more than 200 calls were made to a child abuse hotline to report Ms Deutsch.

“Disappointed to learn that this particular home, despite the notoriety that it had gained, was not in our system. We didn’t have any police reports. We didn’t have any requests for prosecution. We didn’t have anything,” Mr Wood said.