Pa. woman to fight exchange student allegations

CARBONDALE, Pa. — The woman accused of placing foreign exchange students in filthy homes in northeastern Pennsylvania has turned herself in.

Edna Burgette’s lawyer, Chris Osborne, says his client intends to fight the charges after she surrendered Thursday. He says the 69-year-old woman has been a pillar of the community for many years in her hometown of Scranton.

Burgette was fired by the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation, which had paid her to place exchange students. She was charged Wednesday with five felony counts related to the placement of teenagers from Norway, Colombia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Vietnam.

She was arraigned in Carbondale and has been released on $25,000 unsecured bail.

Information from: WNEP-TV, www.wnep.com