TROY – A Lincoln County grand jury Wednesday indicted a foster mother to more than 200 children accused of “systemic” child abuse and even allegations of trading a child for a monkey.

The 12-member grand jury indicted Brenda Deutsch, 70, on the same three charges she was arrested on in April: two counts of child abuse and neglect and one count of child endangerment.

The three Class D felony charges carry a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum of seven years on each count.

Deutsch stands accused of abusing dozens of adopted and foster children in her care over a 20-year period.

The multiple felony charges are due to allegations of a teenager reported missing in December 2024 before authorities located her in Texas in February. She was living “in squalor” according to the prosecutor’s office and left unattended for several consecutive days.

She remains in state custody in Texas amid allegations Deutsch had traded her to the woman in Texas for a monkey and refused to allow the girl to return to her Winfield home.

Deutsch’s recently-hired attorney, Joseph Flees II, said a grand jury indictment in a case like this isn’t unexpected.

“What I will say at this point is an indictment is common for allegations concerning children, but we remind everyone, these are only allegations at this point,” he said. “The defense was not allowed to participate in the grand jury process, so we have no idea of what was said or whether it has any credibility.”

The indictment came less than 24 hours after and Flees unsuccessfully filed for a reduction of her $250,000 cash-only bond to 10 percent of $50,000, or $5,000

“That’s not a fair, appropriate or just amount,” Flees argued of the current bond, pointing out Deutsch, at her age and bad health, is no flight risk or a threat to society.

He also emphasized the amount of support the community has shown, mentioning the gallery of seven individuals there on her behalf.

“I’ve never had so many people reach out and say they would write a letter of support for the court,” he said.

But assistant prosecutor John Krehmeyer painted a very different picture of the defendant, alleging she’s been orchestrating from jail an attempt to impede the investigation. He told Associate Court Judge Michael Jacobs the prosecutor’s office has taped phone calls from the jail in which Deutsch is attempting to dissuade witnesses from cooperating in the investigation and even asking a neighbor to remove surveillance cameras from her property.

“Her conduct is indicative of a person with a consciousness of guilt,” Krehmeyer stated.

He also argued against the bond reduction based on the belief Deutsch’s guilt extends far beyond one isolated incident as she had fostered more than 200 children over 20 years.

“We think this is the tip of the iceberg and is representative of systemic actions on the part of the defendant over several years,” Krehmeyer said.

He submitted a victim statement to Jacobs for consideration.

“She almost tortured them,” Krehmeyer said of the many victims identified.

Early in the hearing, Krehmeyer told Jacobs Deutsch’s case was scheduled to be heard by a grand jury the next day.

With the pending grand jury hearing, Jacobs declined to change the bond.

Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said after the indictment the bond amount remains unchanged.