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'HOUSE OF HORRORS': Couple with 21 children by surrogacy arrested for child abuse
A California couple who had 21 children through surrogacy has been arrested for child abuse, with investigators describing their residence as a "house of horrors."
A surrogacy agency came under federal investigation after it was discovered that a Chinese couple had acquired 21 children through surrogacy.
The couple were both employees of the agency, and allegedly, babies born through the agency in the U.S. (as American citizens) were then being transported back to China.
Authorities have now arrested the couple on charges of child abuse, with 15 children removed from the home.
The abuse the children reportedly suffered is horrific, with their nanny instructed to abuse them in ways that would not leave "visible marks."
In July of 2025, news broke of an investigation into Future Springs Surrogacy.
The for-profit company allegedly employed Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, who also served as the supposed intended parents. However, a federal source told the Daily Wire that the government believes babies were being born to surrogates in the United States, thereby giving them American citizenship, and then were sent back to China.
Though 15 children were removed from the home at the time, the couple are biological parents to 21 children. Nineteen (19) were born through surrogates. The other six children were also located, though it is not clear if they were taken into state care as well.
“We believe this case points to a form of organized reproductive trafficking, and the public should be outraged," Kallie Fell, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, said at the time. "And it won’t stop unless we hold the fertility industry accountable and close our borders to international surrogacy arrangements.”
Part of the investigation began after a two-month-old baby was taken to the hospital with head trauma. Staff called police, who then visited Xuan and Zhang's home; there, they found security footage which revealed a nanny, Chunmei Li, violently hitting and shaking the baby.
Zhang and Xuan were arrested for felony child endangerment; a warrant was issued for Li, but she remains on the run.
Police have now announced new charges against Xuan and Zhang. Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse and witness intimidation.
Xuan has been charged with one felony count of child abuse, one felony count of accessory after the fact, and five felony counts of dissuading a witness.
Zhang has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact, and four counts of dissuading a witness.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
Li has been charged with assault likely to cause death, though she has still not been found.
Mitchell Krems, who represents the couple, told NBC News, “He’s exercising his civil liberties to be able to have as many children as he wants,” claiming the number of children was a response to the restrictive one-child policy in China. “There’s no law against that. He moved to the United States so he can exercise his liberty to have as many children as he wants."
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, however, described it differently, saying the couple's home was a "house of horrors" where children were subjected to constant abuse.
In the case of the beaten two-month-old, Hochman said the couple didn't seek medical care until days later. He also pointed out that the surrogates hired by the couple were lied to about how many children the couple had or why they were hiring surrogates.
“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. Another surrogate, they said they were seeking the miracle baby, and they paid that surrogate $135,000."
Hochman said the couple had set up over 30 cameras around the house, and watched as the children were abused. The couple reportedly laughed as they saw the children being hit, spanked, and slapped. They also sometimes ordered the nannies to hit the children harder.
On occasion, the nannies were filmed taking the children into an enclosed room with no cameras; what they were doing could not be seen on the cameras, but the children were heard screaming from inside.
Some of the children were allegedly beaten with sticks at first, but Xuan instructed the nannies to stop — not to protect them, but because the abuse would leave visible marks. According to the complaint, Xuan instructed the nannies on “the importance of disciplining the children in a manner that would not leave visible marks.”
“This case is unprecedented. It is horrific. And the physical abuse, beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable,” Hochman said.
The couple is accused of helping Li to hide and avoid arrest, even though the two-month-old was beaten so severely that the child reportedly suffered a brain bleed.
If convicted, Xuan faces 17 years in prison, while Zhang could serve 11 years.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·'HOUSE OF HORRORS': Couple with 21 children by surrogacy arrested for child abuse
A California couple who had 21 children through surrogacy has been arrested for child abuse, with investigators describing their residence as a "house of horrors."
A surrogacy agency came under federal investigation after it was discovered that a Chinese couple had acquired 21 children through surrogacy.
The couple were both employees of the agency, and allegedly, babies born through the agency in the U.S. (as American citizens) were then being transported back to China.
Authorities have now arrested the couple on charges of child abuse, with 15 children removed from the home.
The abuse the children reportedly suffered is horrific, with their nanny instructed to abuse them in ways that would not leave "visible marks."
In July of 2025, news broke of an investigation into Future Springs Surrogacy.
The for-profit company allegedly employed Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, who also served as the supposed intended parents. However, a federal source told the Daily Wire that the government believes babies were being born to surrogates in the United States, thereby giving them American citizenship, and then were sent back to China.
Though 15 children were removed from the home at the time, the couple are biological parents to 21 children. Nineteen (19) were born through surrogates. The other six children were also located, though it is not clear if they were taken into state care as well.
“We believe this case points to a form of organized reproductive trafficking, and the public should be outraged," Kallie Fell, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, said at the time. "And it won’t stop unless we hold the fertility industry accountable and close our borders to international surrogacy arrangements.”
Part of the investigation began after a two-month-old baby was taken to the hospital with head trauma. Staff called police, who then visited Xuan and Zhang's home; there, they found security footage which revealed a nanny, Chunmei Li, violently hitting and shaking the baby.
Zhang and Xuan were arrested for felony child endangerment; a warrant was issued for Li, but she remains on the run.
Police have now announced new charges against Xuan and Zhang. Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse and witness intimidation.
Xuan has been charged with one felony count of child abuse, one felony count of accessory after the fact, and five felony counts of dissuading a witness.
Zhang has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact, and four counts of dissuading a witness.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
Li has been charged with assault likely to cause death, though she has still not been found.
Mitchell Krems, who represents the couple, told NBC News, “He’s exercising his civil liberties to be able to have as many children as he wants,” claiming the number of children was a response to the restrictive one-child policy in China. “There’s no law against that. He moved to the United States so he can exercise his liberty to have as many children as he wants."
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, however, described it differently, saying the couple's home was a "house of horrors" where children were subjected to constant abuse.
In the case of the beaten two-month-old, Hochman said the couple didn't seek medical care until days later. He also pointed out that the surrogates hired by the couple were lied to about how many children the couple had or why they were hiring surrogates.
“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. Another surrogate, they said they were seeking the miracle baby, and they paid that surrogate $135,000."
Hochman said the couple had set up over 30 cameras around the house, and watched as the children were abused. The couple reportedly laughed as they saw the children being hit, spanked, and slapped. They also sometimes ordered the nannies to hit the children harder.
On occasion, the nannies were filmed taking the children into an enclosed room with no cameras; what they were doing could not be seen on the cameras, but the children were heard screaming from inside.
Some of the children were allegedly beaten with sticks at first, but Xuan instructed the nannies to stop — not to protect them, but because the abuse would leave visible marks. According to the complaint, Xuan instructed the nannies on “the importance of disciplining the children in a manner that would not leave visible marks.”
“This case is unprecedented. It is horrific. And the physical abuse, beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable,” Hochman said.
The couple is accused of helping Li to hide and avoid arrest, even though the two-month-old was beaten so severely that the child reportedly suffered a brain bleed.
If convicted, Xuan faces 17 years in prison, while Zhang could serve 11 years.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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