Pa. woman to fight exchange student charges

CARBONDALE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman charged with placing foreign exchange students in filthy homes with little food has turned herself in to authorities.

Edna Burgette of Scranton said through her lawyer that she intends to fight the criminal negligence charges that she placed teenagers from Norway, Colombia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Vietnam in deplorable housing in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The 69-year-old woman was arraigned Thursday in Carbondale, a day after the charges were filed. She was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.

Aspect Foundation, a San Francisco-based exchange agency, paid Burgette $400 for each student she placed. The agency fired Burgette, saying it deplores her actions and had no prior knowledge of any neglect.