SCRANTON, Pa. -- A woman has been sentenced to three months in prison for placing foreign exchange students in filthy homes in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Seventy-year-old Edna Burgette was sentenced Monday in Scranton. She pleaded guilty in February to three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children.
Burgette was fired from her job with the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation last May after allegations surfaced that students were malnourished and living in homes whose floors were covered with dog feces. She still awaits sentencing on federal charges stemming from the same allegations.
Defense attorney Christopher Osborne had sought a sentence of house arrest, citing his client's age and poor health. That request was denied.
Burgette told Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse she did her best to keep up with her responsibilities.
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