A couple who had 21 children, most of them born through surrogacy, were arrested on child abuse-related charges after investigators uncovered what prosecutors described as a "house of horrors" at their Southern California mansion.
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested on Oct. 6 after investigators served a search warrant at the couple's home in Arcadia, California, an affluent suburb northeast of downtown Los Angeles. They were each charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Xuan also faces one count of child abuse, one count of accessory after the fact and five counts of dissuading a witness, prosecutors said. Zhang faces one count of accessory after the fact and four
counts of dissuading a witness.
Prosecutors accused the couple of operating a surrogacy company and subjecting children as young as 2 months old to repeated physical abuse, including punishment carried out by nannies under their supervision. Investigators initially found about 16 children living at the residence and later identified 21 children connected to the case, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
"The number of children who were subjected to this alleged horrific abuse is unprecedented," District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. "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."
Surrogacy business at center of allegations
Hochman said at a news conference that the case traces back to 2021, when Xuan and Zhang moved into a 10,287-square-foot home in Arcadia and established a surrogacy company, Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC, which they operated from the residence.
Over the following years, prosecutors alleged the couple expanded their household through surrogate pregnancies.
According to Hochman, the couple began recruiting surrogates across the United States in 2022 and allegedly made false statements to some women about their family circumstances. Prosecutors said at least one surrogate was told Zhang was a single mother struggling to conceive, while another was told the couple had only one child.
A criminal complaint alleges some surrogates were not informed about the true size of the couple's household. In one instance, Hochman said, a woman who was seven months pregnant was allegedly unaware the couple already had 16 other children.
Hochman said women were paid tens of thousands of dollars to carry children for the couple, including one surrogate who was paid up to $75,000 for each of two pregnancies. Other surrogates were allegedly paid $65,000 and $135,000.
By May 2025, authorities said 16 children were living in the Arcadia home, including 14 children born through surrogacy who ranged in age from 2 months to about 5 years old.
Inside the Arcadia home
According to the complaint, the couple hired nannies to supervise and discipline children who spent several hours a day in makeshift classrooms inside the home. Prosecutors alleged the residence was equipped with more than 30 cameras used to monitor both children and nannies.
Children ranging from 2 months to about 5 years old allegedly spent hours each day in three "learning center" rooms under nanny supervision, Hochman said. One room was not equipped with a camera, and some nannies allegedly took children there, where they could be heard screaming, according to the district attorney.
Over 11 days from April 27 to May 7, 2025, prosecutors said nannies were allegedly recorded spanking, slapping, and hitting children. In one instance, a nanny struck a child with a shoe while Zhang and Chunmei Li, another nanny employed by the couple, laughed as they watched the footage, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors also alleged Xuan personally participated in the abuse. On April 30, 2025, he allegedly entered a classroom, instructed a nanny to hit a child harder, and then repeatedly struck the child himself.
Infant's injury led to child abuse investigation
Authorities said the case came to light in May 2025 after a 2-month-old boy was taken to Children's Hospital Los Angeles with a head injury. Hospital staff became suspicious of how the infant had sustained the injury and contacted police, prompting an investigation that ultimately uncovered the alleged abuse.
Prosecutors accused Li, 58, of striking the infant in the head on May 4, 2025. They further alleged that the couple waited two days to seek medical treatment and falsely told hospital staff that the child had fallen from a bed.
Li was previously charged with felony child abuse under conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to prosecutors. Authorities said she remains at large and is wanted on a $105,000 arrest warrant.
Luna credited hospital staff with recognizing potential signs of abuse and alerting authorities.
“I can’t tell you how important the hospital staff recognizing, doing a thorough interview and analysis, the fact that they called us started this whole thing,” Luna said at the news conference. "That is very important."
Prosecutors further alleged Xuan and Zhang attempted to conceal the abuse after authorities began investigating. According to the complaint, the couple instructed some children to deny they had been beaten before police arrived at the home on May 7, 2025.
Zhang is also accused of directing a nanny to hide sticks used to strike children shortly before officers arrived, prosecutors said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'House of horrors': California couple in surrogacy case charged with child abuse
