Seventy-year-old foster mother Brenda Deutsch was convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to seven years in prison, but the judge suspended the term and imposed three years' probation while revoking her foster-care license. Court records say Deutsch allegedly sent a foster teen to Texas and told the Texas contact they could "keep the child" while she would "keep the check." The teen and Deutsch's daughter testified to alleged physical abuse, and the judge apologized to victims while criticizing the foster-care system.
Missouri Foster Mom Avoids Prison After Alleged 'Trade' of Teen for Monkey; Judge Revokes License
A gavel, legal books, and a statue of Themis on a judge's desk.
A Missouri foster mother accused of sending a teenage foster child to Texas and allegedly "trading" her for an exotic animal was sentenced to prison but will not serve time behind bars after a judge suspended the sentence and placed her on probation.
Brenda Deutsch, 70, was convicted of child endangerment and given a seven-year prison sentence. Lincoln County Judge Thomas Frawley suspended execution of that sentence and instead ordered three years of supervised probation. From the bench the judge also revoked Deutsch's foster-care license and sharply criticized the foster-care system for failing the victims.
A judge condemned Brenda Deutsch, 70, as "reprehensible" and said the foster care system had failed her victims.
Court records and testimony show the case began after Deutsch requested permission to take a foster teen to visit a friend in Texas. Five days later, an anonymous tip to the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division alleged physical and mental abuse. Investigators later learned the teen — now 17 — had been left in a Texas residence reportedly filled with exotic animals.
According to court documents, the teenager told investigators Deutsch informed the Texas contact she could "keep the child" while Deutsch "would be keeping the check." A witness described the Texas home as unsanitary; Texas child protective services ultimately took the teen into custody.
Deutsch was arrested in April after authorities investigated allegations that she sent the foster child, who is now 17, to Texas to stay in a home Deutsch admitted in court she knew nothing about.
The victim's allegations include being struck with objects such as a paddle and shoes, being deprived of clothing and being threatened with death if she did not "shut up." One court filing describes an episode in which the teen said she lay on the floor and tried to "soften the strikes to her body."
Deutsch's biological daughter, Brina Johnson, testified at the hearing and said she provided detectives with a recorded conversation related to the case. Johnson also alleged Deutsch kept multiple monkeys and treated them as poorly as she treated children in her care. Deutsch has reportedly fostered more than 200 children over the years.
Judge Frawley apologized to the victims in court and said he was sorry the foster-care system had failed them.
Deutsch declined to comment after the hearing, shielding her face as she left the courthouse. prosecutors and advocates said the case highlights gaps in oversight within the foster-care system that allowed a licensed caregiver to remain at large despite serious allegations.
Key case facts: Arrest in April following the investigation; a 17-year-old victim taken into Texas protective custody; alleged exchange of a foster child for an exotic animal; revoked foster license and suspended prison sentence with probation.
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