A California couple accused of abusing at least 14 surrogate-born children, some as young as two months old, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in connection with the alleged abuse. According to NBC News, Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested at their mansion in Arcadia, California, and appeared in a Pasadena court, where they denied the allegations.
The couple is accused of running a surrogacy operation while raising 21 children, most of whom were born to different surrogate mothers. Authorities allege that 15 of the 16 children living at the mansion were subjected to repeated physical abuse.
The investigation began in May 2025 after a two-month-old boy was taken to hospital with a head injury. According to prosecutors, a nanny had allegedly struck the baby two days before he was brought to the hospital. The child had reportedly recovered from his injuries.
When police investigated the case, they discovered three rooms in the mansion that the couple referred to as “learning centres”. The children were allegedly made to sit at desks for long periods while being supervised by nannies. Authorities also found 32 motion-activated cameras around the house. Prosecutors allege the cameras were used by Xuan and Zhang to monitor the children and the way nannies disciplined them.
According to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, surveillance footage showed nannies spanking, slapping and hitting the children. Prosecutors also allege that Xuan himself physically abused a child and, in one incident, instructed a nanny to hit a child harder.
The couple is further accused of trying to conceal the alleged abuse by telling nannies not to leave visible marks on the children and instructing them to lie about what had happened.
“This house could only be described as a house of horrors for these incredibly young children,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a Tuesday news conference.
The children were removed from the couple’s custody after authorities raided the home in July 2025. They ranged in age from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three years old. All 21 children are now in state custody.
Prosecutors also allege that the couple misled women who agreed to become surrogates for them. According to the criminal complaint, they made false claims about their family circumstances and the number of children they already had.
One surrogate was allegedly told that Zhang was a single woman struggling to conceive, while another was reportedly not told that the couple already had 16 children when she was seven months pregnant.
The couple has also been charged with allegedly attempting to dissuade witnesses from cooperating with investigators.
Their lawyer, Mitchell Krems, has denied the allegations and said Xuan was being unfairly targeted because of the unusually large size of his family. He also said Xuan fired the nanny accused of abusing the two-month-old child after learning about the incident.
Another nanny, Chunmei Li, 58, has separately been charged with felony child abuse. Prosecutors allege she was involved in the assault on the two-month-old. She remains at large and is the subject of an arrest warrant.
If convicted, Xuan faces a possible maximum sentence of 17 years and four months in state prison, while Zhang could face up to 11 years and eight months. Li faces up to 12 years. A judge has set bail at $20 million each for Xuan and Zhang, along with home detention and restrictions on contact with the children.
