A California couple with 21 children was charged with the abuse of at least 14 surrogate-born children, including one as young as two months old, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, face several counts of child abuse as well as conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact and dissuading a witness.
“The number of children who were subjected to this alleged horrific abuse is unprecedented,” Hochman said on Tuesday. “The alleged corporal abuse of these children is appalling and revolting, especially at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them.”
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“This was not a home where these children were loved and nurtured. This was a home where these young children were systematically beaten and punished if they did not do what they were told,” he continued.
“These alleged abusers will now face the full force of the law as we hold them accountable for their despicable actions,” Hochman added.
Xuan and Zhang were arrested at their mansion in Arcadia, Calif. and both charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit child abuse.
Xuan also faces one felony count of child abuse, one felony count of accessory after the fact and five felony counts of dissuading a witness, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Zhang also faces one count of accessory after the fact and four counts of dissuading a witness.
The children in the couple’s home suffered daily beatings from nannies as the couple watched over a network of surveillance cameras and laughed, according to prosecutors.
The couple allegedly recruited women across the country to serve as surrogates, promising them that they were just looking for another child to grow their family.
“Over an 11-day period, between April 27 and May 7, 2025, some of the nannies were caught on video spanking, slapping or hitting the children. In one instance, a nanny struck a child with a shoe and Zhang and Li laughed as they watched the footage,” the criminal complaint said.
The couple pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations during a court appearance on Tuesday near Pasadena.
Prosecutors sought US$100 million bail per person because of the serious nature of the charges and because they are flight risks.
The couple have over 200 personal and 70 corporate bank accounts with annual transfers of $250 million, Deputy District Attorney MacKenzie Teymouri said.
Both were said to have U.S., Mexican and Chinese passports, though investigators have not determined if they are all legitimate; prosecutors said they used fake passports to create some of the bank accounts.
LA County Superior Court Judge Kerry White set bail at $20 million each with home detention and a protective order against visiting their children.
Xuan and Zhang are accused of conspiring to subject 15 of the 16 children living in their Arcadia home to repeated physical abuse.
The pair ran their own surrogacy company and allegedly made false statements to at least two women who became their surrogates, indicating that Zhang was struggling to conceive, according to the criminal complaint.
“On April 30, 2025, Xuan entered one of the classrooms and allegedly told a nanny to strike the child harder. Xuan is then accused of repeatedly spanking the child, delivering open-handed blows to the child’s head and lifting the child up by one arm while continuing to hit the child,” the news release from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.
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The alleged abuse was discovered after police responded to a report about one of the children, a two-month-old boy, suffering from an injury, according to authorities.
Chunmei Li, a nanny who worked for Xuan and Zhang at their Arcadia home, is accused of hitting the boy on May 4.
Xuan and Zhang allegedly did not seek medical treatment until two days later when they claimed the baby had fallen from a bed, according to the criminal complaint.
Li has previously been charged with one felony count of child abuse under conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said.
A $105,000 warrant for Li’s arrest remains outstanding.
If convicted as charged, Xuan faces a possible maximum sentence of 17 years and four months in state prison, while Zhang faces up to 11 years and eight months in prison. Li faces up to 12 years in prison, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
—With files from The Associated Press
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