Foster mom charged with abuse as authorities investigate whether a girl was traded for a monkey
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A foster mother in Missouri has recently faced charges of child abuse and endangerment amid allegations of potentially trading an adopted daughter for a monkey in Texas and mistreating other children under her care.

The 70-year-old woman from Winfield has been in custody since her weekend arrest, with a bond set at $250,000. Her upcoming court appearance is scheduled for the following Tuesday, though no legal representation has been noted in online court records. Winfield, a small town with a population of 1,500 residents, is located approximately 45 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis.

Prosecutors have pointed out in their motion for a cash-only bond that the accused woman had served as a foster or adoptive parent to over 100 children. According to the court filing, information has emerged suggesting that some of these children may have also been subjected to similar forms of physical and emotional abuse.


Brenda Ruth Deutsch, a 70-year-old woman from Winfield, MO, charged with child abuse and endangerment, who is reportedly similar in appearance to Barbara Janke.
Prosecutors wrote in asking for a cash-only bond that the girl’s mother was a foster or adoptive parent to more than 100 children. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office

The Associated Press is not identifying the woman in an effort not to identity her child.

The girl at the center of the case is in her teens. She told authorities she was beaten with wooden trim, shoes and a paddle, a detective with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the probable cause statement. The girl said she tried to tell people what was happening but that no one believed her.

In February, a deputy who was working as a school resource officer in Missouri was contacted about the girl missing classes, the probable cause statement said. While investigating, the deputy was told of a rumor that the girl was traded for an exotic animal to someone in Texas.

The deputy asked authorities in Texas to check on the girl, and she was returned to Missouri, where child welfare officials had gotten a tip several months earlier that the girl was being abused.

Lincoln County prosecutor Mike Wood elaborated in an interview with KSDK-TV that a witness described being asked to bring the child down to Texas and bring the monkey back in return. Wood said they will need to investigate further to see if that is credible.

“What was disturbing is that the idea that that was even a possibility, like how we could have a serious conversation that that even was something being considered or joked about is really kind of disheartening,” Wood told the station on Tuesday.

According to the probable cause statement, the girl said the woman she was staying with in Texas worked out of town and left her for days at a time to take care of exotic animals. The girl said she wasn’t subjected to sexual abuse or forced labor.


A sign with a sheriff's badge related to Brenda Ruth Deutsch's child abuse charges
According to the probable cause statement, the girl said the woman she was staying with in Texas worked out of town and left her for days at a time to take care of exotic animals. NBC

The woman told a detective she was friends with the girl’s adoptive mother and took her in to give the pair a break from each other. Charging documents describe the girl’s living conditions there as unsanitary and said she was inadequately supervised.

Wood didn’t immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. But the prosecutor’s office said in a Facebook post that more charges were expected as additional information becomes available. The post said authorities are now sifting through a decade’s worth of allegations of abuse.

“Numerous victims and witnesses have already contacted my office and I would encourage anyone else with information to continue reaching out to my office, as well as investigators,” the post said.

Baylee Watts, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Social Services, provided no information about the case, writing in an email that “information related to specific child abuse and neglect investigations is closed and confidential under Missouri law, except under very limited circumstances.”

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