'Horrific and disturbing': California couple lock 20 children in 'hotel-like mansion', all born through surrogate mothers

A Southern California couple has been charged with child endangerment and neglect after authorities removed more than 20 children from their Arcadia home, most of whom were reportedly born through surrogacy, police said.

The children were between two months and 13 years old, with most falling in the one- to three-year-old age range, as per the Arcadia Police Department.

Arrest warrants were issued in May for Guojun Xuan, 65 and his wife Silvia Zhang, 38, as well as their nanny Chunmei Li, 56.

Xuan and Zhang were arrested without incident but Li is still at large, CBS News reported. Fifteen children were taken into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services while the others went to stay with friends of the couple or family members.

It remains unclear whether the family intended to place the children in permanent homes elsewhere or raise them themselves. However, the mother reportedly said that she had always dreamed of having a very large family, as per investigators.

Investigators believe that the surrogate mothers were located all across the country and were not aware that they were carrying embryos for the same couple.

The police department said that officers were alerted of a possible child abuse case on May 7 by a local hospital. Upon arrival, they discovered that a two-month-old infant had been admitted with a traumatic head injury and intracranial bleeding.

Detectives then raided the residence in Arcadia, where they collected surveillance camera footage, according to the department.

"Upon reviewing the footage, detectives observed that a nanny employed by the child's parents violently shook and struck the infant on May 5, 2025, resulting in the child losing consciousness," said a police news release.

Investigators said that even if the couple were aware of the child’s injury, they did not immediately seek medical help. They brought the infant to the hospital only after the baby suffered seizures two days later.

Surveillance camera footage also found that other nannies employed by the couple were seen abusing the children.

Neighbors said the sprawling 10,000-square-foot property, where the couple lived, valued at around $4 million, resembled a hotel, complete with a lobby and suite-style rooms across its nine bedrooms.

"And (it has) like a round, what I can only describe as a hotel desk and a gentleman sitting behind it like a clerk," said Art Romero, who lives nearby.

Zhang has denied the allegations saying that the officials are misguided and wrong. "We look forward to vindicating any such claims at the appropriate time when and if any actions are brought," he said as reported by KTLA.

"It's horrific, it's disturbing, it's damaging emotionally," said Kayla Elliot, one of the surrogate mothers of an infant, reported ABC7. She has launched a bid to get her baby back.