Foster mum ‘tried to swap child for monkey after horror abuse’ | US | News

A Missouri woman subjected her foster child to years of abuse before attempting to replace the young girl with a monkey, according to authorities.

Brenda Deutsch, 70, had served as a foster caregiver for decades, caring for more than 200 children during that time. During his tenure, more than 200 calls were allegedly made to the abuse hotline, expressing concerns about his behaviour.

But authorities did not launch a formal investigation into Deutsch until November 2024, when the Missouri Department of Social Services received an anonymous tip that he had mistreated one of his foster children. This was followed by an investigation that revealed years of horrific abuse.

“It wasn’t isolated. It was a culture of abuse and neglect,” said Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood. The young girl was interviewed by child welfare officials in December 2024 and explained that the abuse began three years ago.

The abuse, which lasted from September 2022 to January 2025, culminated in a shocking attempt to swap the child for a monkey, according to Fox2 Now.

While in Deutsch’s custody, the girl allegedly suffered facial injuries after the blow, causing bleeding, authorities said. He told investigators he was hit with a shovel and slapped repeatedly.

The girl also told authorities that she witnessed other children in the home being mistreated. “Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and also some level of neglect,” Wood explained.

“We’ve received some information about kids hoarding food, which is something you always look for. Emotional abuse, like throwing away their clothes. Taking them for checkups, whether they have psychological problems as a level of control. Sending kids to residential treatment centers as punishment.”

“We don’t have all the facts in front of us, but it was disturbing to hear that there were so many helplines and that this particular home was notorious in the community for neglect and abuse,” Wood said.

The accusations against Deutsch took an even more bizarre turn in February 2025, when the Winfield School District said the girl had been excessively absent from school, deputies said.

While the school launched an investigation into the girl’s whereabouts, authorities revealed that the girl was given to someone in Texas in exchange for a monkey.

Lincoln County authorities contacted Texas law enforcement officials for assistance in tracking the child. They eventually located the girl, who said she was fine.

“The boy was left alone in Texas for a long time,” Wood explained. “One of them was a 10-day period where that person in Texas went to the state of New Mexico and dropped off the child.”

Wood revealed that Deutsch and one of his co-workers named as a witness kept exotic animals. He asked his colleague to take the girl in exchange for the monkey.

Deutsch’s friend told authorities that she kept the child away from Deutsch because they “didn’t get along.”

The friend then left Texas to care for her animals in New Mexico, meaning the girl moved to a different address, authorities said.

“It was at a second home where the first witness had adult children,” Wood continued.

“Both of these people are disabled and unable to care for the child. As far as we can tell, the child was looking after them,” he said. The girl was eventually turned over to Child Protective Services in Texas, according to law enforcement officials.

Deutsch was first charged with neglect, child abuse and child endangerment in April 2025. He was later charged with two counts of abuse or neglect of a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

But the remaining two charges were dismissed Monday after he accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Deutsch now faces up to seven years behind bars. Case review is scheduled for July 21, according to court records.