Yes, you read that headline right.
A 70-year-old former foster mother in Missouri has been convicted after trading a kid for an exotic monkey.
Brenda Deutsch allegedly sent a young girl to a Texas home that she admitted to knowing nothing about. In return, they sent her a pet monkey.
This girl — who also claims that Deutsch subjected her to horrific abuse — was eventually rescued by CPS.
Fox News reported:
Court documents previously obtained by Fox News Digital said the investigation began after Deutsch sought permission to take the girl to visit a friend in Texas. Five days later, an anonymous caller alerted the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division that Deutsch was allegedly physically and mentally abusing the child.
Investigators later learned of an allegation that the girl had been traded for an exotic animal and was living in Texas.
The teenager told investigators Deutsch informed her Texas friend that the friend could keep the child, but Deutsch “will be keeping the check,” according to court documents.
A witness told police the girl had been left in an unsanitary Texas home filled with exotic animals. She was eventually taken into the custody of child protective services in Texas.
The teenager also described alleged abuse by Deutsch, telling investigators she was struck with objects including a paddle and shoes. During one alleged beating, she said she lay on the floor and tried to “soften the strikes to her body,” according to court documents.
Deutsch also allegedly took away the girl’s clothes and once threatened to kill her “if she did not shut up,” the documents said.
Last week, Deutsch was sentenced to seven years for child endangerment for the incident.
However, a judge has suspended her sentence, placing her on three years of probation instead.
This means that she will not spend even a single day in jail as long as she behaves herself.
Blue Lives Matter broke down the details of this bizarre and disturbing case further:
She traded a foster girl for a MONKEY and Missouri still let her walk!!!
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Brenda Deutsch, 70, of Winfield pleaded guilty in June to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Lincoln County Judge Thomas Frawley imposed a seven-year prison term this week and immediately…
pic.twitter.com/MEuKFu4mbl
— Blue Lives Matter (@bluelivesmtr)
September 6, 2026
She traded a foster girl for a MONKEY and Missouri still let her walk!!!
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Brenda Deutsch, 70, of Winfield pleaded guilty in June to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Lincoln County Judge Thomas Frawley imposed a seven-year prison term this week and immediately suspended every day of it for three years of probation.
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Prosecutors say she sent a 14-year-old foster girl to a Texas house she later admitted she knew nothing about. Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood told NBC News she grew frustrated with the child and said, “You know, why don’t you send a monkey and you can just keep the child?”
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Wood said witnesses described a monkey coming back to Missouri. He also said he could not prove a quid pro quo that would support a traff*cking charge, so that count never went to trial.
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The girl, now 17, sat in the Troy courtroom. Texas Child Protective Services had already pulled her from the house after she was left bouncing between strangers while the woman she was sent to tended exotic animals.
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Deutsch fostered more than 200 children over about two decades. Wood said the state hotline logged more than 200 calls about her home and that older as$ault claims fell outside the statute of limitations.
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Two child-abuse counts were dropped in the plea. The girl had told investigators she was hit with a paddle and held down.
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Missouri still had her foster license on the day of sentencing. Frawley called her reprehensible, revoked the license on the spot, and told the victims he was sorry the system failed them.
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Her daughter Brina Johnson said, “That’s just her thing. But she wasn’t any nicer to those monkeys than she was to a child.” A supporter outside court called her “a very caring person.”
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She goes home if she stays out of trouble. The girl does not get those years back.
It’s terrible that the teenage girl who was literally traded for a monkey will not receive justice for what she had to endure.
We live in insane times.
This local news clip provided further coverage:
#BREAKING: Outrage is erupting in Missouri after a foster mother who TRADED A CHILD FOR A MONKEY…
…will spend exactly ZERO DAYS IN PRISON!!!!
Yes, you read that right.
She shipped a girl off to a stranger’s home in Texas in exchange for an EXOTIC MONKEY…
…and a…
pic.twitter.com/FlmAmkWKCt
— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol)
September 6, 2026
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
