A Southern California couple has been charged with conspiring to abuse at least 14 surrogate-born children, some as young as two months old, at their mansion in Arcadia. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the charges follow an investigation that began in May 2025, when one infant was taken to a hospital with a serious head injury. The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and the charges remain allegations until proven in court.
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested on October 6 after investigators searched their 10,287-square-foot home, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Both face one count of conspiracy to commit child abuse and one count of accessory after the fact. Xuan also faces one felony count of child abuse and five counts of dissuading a witness; Zhang faces four counts of dissuading a witness. Prosecutors had recommended bail of $100 million each, citing flight risk; the judge set bail at $20 million each with home detention and a protective order barring contact with the children, and a bail review hearing was scheduled for the following Monday.
Sixteen children were removed from the home when it was raided, and investigators later identified 21 children connected to the case, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Fourteen of the children found in the home, ranging from two months to about five years old, were born through surrogacy.
Hochman described the residence as a "house of horrors." "This was not a home where these children were loved and nurtured," he said. "This was a home where these young children were systematically beaten and punished if they did not do what they were told."
The case came to light in May 2025, when Zhang took a two-month-old boy to a hospital for a head injury and said he had fallen from a bed, according to prosecutors. Hospital staff became suspicious and contacted police. Nanny Chunmei Li, 58, is accused of striking the infant on May 4, 2025; prosecutors say the couple waited two days before seeking treatment. Li was previously charged with felony child abuse under conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and a $105,000 warrant for her arrest remains outstanding.
According to the criminal complaint, three rooms in the house were used as "learning centers" where children spent hours each day at desks under nanny supervision. Over an 11-day period from April 27 to May 7, 2025, nannies were recorded spanking, slapping and hitting children, the complaint said. In one instance a nanny struck a child with a shoe while Zhang and Li laughed while watching the footage. Xuan is accused of telling a nanny to strike a child harder, then repeatedly hitting the child himself.
Prosecutors say the couple monitored the household through 32 motion-activated cameras and watched live feeds on a large television screen. One room had no camera, and children taken inside could be heard screaming, according to the complaint. Xuan is also accused of laughing while a nanny forced a child to hold a "horse stance."
The couple operated a surrogacy company, Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC, from the residence and made false statements to prospective surrogates, prosecutors said. Hochman said one surrogate was told Zhang was a single mother struggling to conceive, and another was not told the couple already had 16 children. Surrogates were paid between $65,000 and $135,000 per child, according to the District Attorney's Office and reporting by Courthouse News and NBC News.
Prosecutors also allege the couple tried to conceal the abuse, instructing children to deny they had been beaten before police arrived on May 7, 2025. Zhang is accused of directing a nanny to hide sticks used to strike the children.
Xuan's attorney, Mitchell Krems, denies the abuse allegations. "My client did not commit any form of abuse," Krems said in a statement, arguing Xuan is being "unfairly penalized for exercising his liberty to have a large family." Krems said the blame for the infant's injury lies with the nanny, whom he said Xuan fired after learning of the abuse.
What is confirmed: the arrests, the charges, the not-guilty pleas, the removal of the children into state custody, and the outstanding warrant for Li. What remains unknown: the couple's motive for expanding their household through surrogacy — Hochman said that remains part of an ongoing FBI investigation — and whether additional charges will follow. What is awaited: the bail review hearing, further court proceedings, and any resolution of the charges against all three defendants, who are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.