A 70-year-old foster mother from Winfield, Missouri, has avoided prison after allegedly trading her teenage foster daughter to a family in Texas in exchange for a monkey. Brenda Deutsch was initially sentenced to seven years for child endangerment, but the judge suspended the term, instead placing her on three years of supervised probation, meaning she will serve no jail time if she stays out of trouble. The case has drawn strong reactions, with the judge branding Deutsch "reprehensible" while some local supporters have defended her character.

Deutsch accepted a plea deal in June after investigators said she sent her then eighth-grade foster daughter, Annabella Rodriquez, now 17, to live with a Texas family in exchange for the animal. The arrangement came to light after excessive school absences triggered an investigation, revealing the girl had later been passed to another family unable to care for her before being handed to Texan child protection services. Deutsch's own biological daughter, Brina Johnson, testified against her mother, claiming she has evidence of the trade and that Deutsch had owned at least seven monkeys previously. The judge revoked Deutsch's foster care licence and apologised to the victims, criticising the state for allowing her to retain it.