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Missouri Foster Mother Receives Suspended Sentence in Child-for-Monkey Trade Case
Just the facts
Brenda Deutsch was arrested in April 2026 following an investigation by the Missouri Department of Social Services Children's Division into allegations that she sent a 17-year-old foster child to stay at a home in Texas in exchange for an exotic animal. Investigators established that Deutsch informed her contact in Texas that the child could remain there while Deutsch continued receiving state foster care subsidy checks. During sentencing proceedings, Judge Frawley revoked Deutsch's foster care license from the bench, criticized state authorities for failing to revoke it earlier, and issued a public apology to the victim. Texas child protective services took the teenager into custody after she reported enduring physical abuse, including being struck with paddles and shoes.
Why this is news
Lincoln County Circuit Judge Thomas Frawley sentenced 70-year-old Missouri foster mother Brenda Deutsch to a suspended seven-year prison sentence and three years of probation after she was convicted of child endangerment for trading a foster child for a monkey.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.