Pa. woman charged in neglect of exchange students

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman who worked for a student exchange agency has been charged with criminal neglect for allegedly placing foreign students in filthy homes, littered with animal waste and also occupied by ex-convicts.

Edna Burgette, 69, of Scranton was charged Wednesday with the neglect of five teenagers from Norway, Colombia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Vietnam. Prosecutors said the students also had to scrounge for food while living in the U.S. homes.

Police were looking for Burgette, whose whereabouts were unknown Wednesday. It was not clear if she had an attorney.

Burgette worked for Aspect Foundation, a San Francisco-based agency that paid her $400 for each student she placed.

Aspect fired her, and was penalized by the U.S. State Department.