In April, which is National Child Abuse Prevention month, Brenda Ruth Deutsch, a Missouri woman, was arrested on charges of abuse and neglect of a child. She allegedly paddled and abandoned a girl with an exotic animal collector in Texas. Deutsch, who has fostered over 200 children in the last 15 to 20 years, was accused of physically and mentally abusing the girl, leading to a police investigation.
The girl, during a forensic interview, described being hit with various objects, including a paddle, trim, and shoes. She also recounted instances of physical abuse that caused her nose to bleed and revealed that she had spoken to multiple people about the abuse, but no one believed her. The girl was found in Texas after being reported missing from school and detailed her experiences of being left alone for days to care for exotic animals while staying with the collector.
During a second forensic interview, the girl shared that Deutsch would take her belongings and put them in Goodwill boxes, leaving her with barely any clothes. She also expressed that she was not fed properly at Deutsch’s home and had to resort to stealing food. Despite feeling unsafe at Deutsch’s house, the girl was forced to return whenever she ran away. The foster mother allegedly told the woman in Texas to keep the girl and keep the financial support. Deutsch was given a bond of $250,000 and did not have a defense attorney listed in court records.
