JACKSON, Miss. – An organization hounded by allegations of sexual abuse by its host fathers has lost its government designation to bring foreign exchange students to the United States.
State Department spokeswoman Susan Pittman told The Associated Press on Friday that Pacific Intercultural Exchange, or PIE, was removed this week from the department's list of official sponsors.
The San Diego-based company was part of a network of organizations that brings close to 30,000 high school students to the U.S. annually.
PIE was suspended from the program in July. A call to the company was not immediately returned.
The State Department also decided to deny PIE's re-designation, which comes up every two years.
Pittman says the company faced a Wednesday deadline to appeal the decision, but decided not to challenge it.
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