Three Chinese Nationals Charged in Arcadia Surrogate Children Abuse Case

Los Angeles County prosecutors say a couple and their nanny subjected at least 14 surrogate-born children to repeated physical abuse inside an Arcadia mansion.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced Tuesday that Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, both of Arcadia, were charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse and related offenses involving children as young as 2 months old who lived in their home. A nanny, Chunmei Li, 57, was previously charged with felony child abuse under conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death; a $105,000 warrant for her arrest remains outstanding.

Xuan and Zhang face one count each of conspiracy to commit child abuse. Xuan is also charged with one felony count of child abuse, one count of accessory after the fact, and five counts of dissuading a witness. Zhang faces one count of accessory after the fact and four counts of dissuading a witness. They were scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in Pasadena. Prosecutors recommended bail of $100 million each, citing flight risk and the nature of the allegations.

According to the criminal complaint, Xuan and Zhang operated a surrogacy company and made false statements to at least two surrogates claiming Zhang was struggling to conceive. Fifteen of the 16 children living in the Arcadia home were allegedly subjected to repeated physical abuse. Nannies supervised the children during hours spent in makeshift classrooms. More than 30 cameras monitored the house, though one room lacked a camera; nannies took children there, where screaming could be heard, the complaint states.

Video from an 11-day period in late April and early May 2025 allegedly shows nannies spanking, slapping, or hitting children. In one instance, a nanny struck a child with a shoe while Zhang and Li laughed while watching the footage. On April 30, Xuan allegedly entered a classroom, told a nanny to strike a child harder, then repeatedly spanked the child, delivered open-handed blows to the child's head, and lifted the child by one arm while continuing to hit.

The investigation began after police responded to a report of a 2-month-old boy with a head injury. Li is accused of hitting the infant on May 4. Xuan and Zhang allegedly did not seek medical care until two days later and told staff the baby had fallen from a bed. Before police arrived on May 7, the pair allegedly instructed some children to deny that nannies had beaten them, and Zhang is accused of telling a nanny to hide sticks used to strike the children.

If convicted as charged, Xuan faces a possible maximum of 17 years and four months in state prison, Zhang up to 11 years and eight months, and Li up to 12 years. The cases are being prosecuted by the Family Violence Division's Complex Child Abuse Section and investigated by the Arcadia Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Bureau.

The charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.