Woman accused of offering to exchange her foster child for an exotic animal, officials say
LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) – A foster mom in Missouri is accused of abusing a foster child for years, including offering to sell the victim in exchange for an exotic animal.
Brenda Deutsch, of Winfield, is charged with felony counts of neglect, child abuse and child endangerment stemming from initial allegations of a missing child later found in Texas. Her cash-only bond was set at $250,000.
According to court documents, the abuse happened between Sept. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2025.
Investigators said Deutsch 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 investigation began in November 2024 when the Missouri Department of Social Services received an anonymous tip that Deutsch was abusing the victim.
Court documents say that the victim was interviewed by the state in December 2024 and told them about her abuse, which had started about three years prior.
The victim told investigators she was hit with a paddle, smacked and faced other abuse. The victim also admitted she had seen other family members be abused.
“Emotional abuse, physical abuse and also a level of neglect,” Wood said. “We had some information children were hoarding food, which is always something you look for.”
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. She also is accused of sending children to residential treatment facilities as a form of punishment.
According to court documents, in February of this year, the victim’s school district in Missouri reported that the child was missing from school and was reportedly in Texas.
Wood said Deutsch sent the child to live in a house in Texas, but the reason why is unclear.
One witness told investigators it was because Deutsch and the victim weren’t getting along.
A different witness told investigators it was so Deutsch could exchange the victim for an exotic animal.
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,” 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.
Another child in Deutsch’s care in Missouri has been removed from the home and put into protective custody.
Sources say Deutsch was a foster parent for decades for over 200 children.
Wood said during this time, more than 200 calls were made to a child abuse hotline to report 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,” Wood said.
The Lincoln County Sheriff said that Deutsch had called law enforcement to her home several times over the years, and investigators are now looking through old files to see if there was anything that could have been done differently.
The Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said the charges against Deutsch are initial, and the investigation is expected to be lengthy as it will cover a decade’s worth of abuse allegations. They also said numerous victims and witnesses have contacted their office.
Deutsch next court date is set for April 14.
