TROY — The woman accused of abusing a 16-year-old in her care and abandoning her in Texas was in court on Tuesday seeking to reduce her $250,000 cash-only bond.
“I just want to go home and get this taken care of,” Brenda Deutsch said.
Prosecutors objected, saying Deutsch could flee the state, potentially going to Texas, where the teen victim is now living. The victim did not testify at the hearing, but submitted a letter to Lincoln County Judge Michael Jacobs.
A friend of Deutsch's said after the hearing that prosecutors have the case “all wrong.”
“Brenda is wrongly accused. She’s the victim,” said Bryan Hargis, who said he attends church with Deutsch. “She had a lot of trouble with her children and her adopted children.”
He described Deutsch, 70, as a deeply caring person who recently returned from a missionary trip overseas to combat poverty in Africa and had also started a small animal sanctuary on her property. Deutsch has been described as an exotic animal collector in court papers.
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Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said after the hearing that his office has been contacted by multiple former foster children who say Deutsch abused them. No additional charges have yet been filed, he said.
The judge did not lower Deutsch's bond.
