A Southern California couple who had 21 children, most of whom were birthed by different surrogate mothers, lied to the surrogates and then subjected the children to vicious beatings and punishments, authorities said.Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan were arrested Tuesday after authorities served a search warrant at their Arcadia mansion as part of a child abuse investigation.They have been charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse and witness intimidation.
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.Zhang also faces one count of accessory after the fact and four counts of dissuading a witness.“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.
Authorities began investigating the couple last year after a 2-month-old child was brought to the hospital with head injuries.Hochman, citing a criminal complaint, alleged that a nanny struck the baby in the head on May 4, 2025.
Xuan and Zhang did not seek medical attention until days later, he said, noting that the baby has since recovered.During the investigation, authorities learned that Xuan and Zhang were running a surrogacy ring out of their home and hired surrogates throughout the country.
Hochman said the couple often lied to the women about why they wanted children or how many children they already had.“One surrogate in particular … was paid for both a first and second surrogacy,” he said.
“She was told initially Zhang was a single mother struggling to conceive when she agreed to act as a surrogate.That was a false statement.”The woman was paid up to $75,000 per surrogacy, the district attorney said.The couple failed to tell another woman who was 7 months pregnant that they already had 16 other children, he said.
“Another surrogate, they said they were seeking the miracle...