Charter school founder heads to prison, temporarily

CHARTER SCHOOL founder Dorothy June Brown voluntarily agreed yesterday to go to a federal prison for up to 30 days to undergo a mental-competency evaluation, as requested by federal prosecutors.

The government's request followed a defense motion that asked for a competency hearing for Brown, 77.

The defense motion was filed the week before Brown was to face a Sept. 8 retrial on charges that she defrauded two of the four charter schools she founded of about $6.3 million.

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick postponed the retrial and ordered Brown to submit to a psychiatric and mental-competency evaluation, and then an additional psychological examination.

After a hearing yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello and Gregory Miller, Brown's lead attorney, said separately that the results of those two evaluations are "confidential."

Of the government's request for Brown to undergo another examination while being placed in custody, Costello said: "We just need more information."

In court, Miller told the judge the defense has "no opposition" to the government's request for Brown to undergo a "custodial examination." He also confirmed to the judge that Brown will provide her own transportation to and from the federal facility.

He asked the judge to recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Brown be examined at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. The judge said he will recommend that, but it will be up to the BOP where it will place her. He said he will order her to surrender to the designated facility on Oct. 15.

Marcus Williams, a spokesman for the Fort Worth facility, said yesterday that the prison has both forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. The prison for female defendants has a medical center with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp.

Brown founded Laboratory Charter School, Ad Prima and Planet Abacus, all elementary charter schools in Philadelphia, and also helped set up Agora Cyber Charter on the Main Line.

In January, a federal jury deadlocked on 54 of 60 counts against her while acquitting her of six counts. Since then, the government has dropped 10 counts, including wire-fraud charges related to Laboratory Charter.

Brown still faces 44 counts of fraud related to Agora and Planet Abacus and obstruction-of-justice charges related to all four schools.

She did not face any fraud charges related to Ad Prima.