California couple accused of abusing at least 14 children born via surrogacy
A California couple has been charged with abusing at least 14 surrogate-born children, some as young as two months old, in what prosecutors describe as an unprecedented case. Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, who ran their own surrogacy company, allegedly deceived surrogate mothers and subjected the children to repeated physical abuse. The case came to light when a two-month-old boy was brought to hospital with a head injury, prompting an investigation that uncovered what authorities described as a "house of horrors".
Twenty-one children aged between two months and thirteen years, mostly one to three years old, were removed from the couple's custody in July 2025. The mansion contained three "learning centres" supervised by nannies and equipped with 32 motion-activated cameras used to monitor discipline. A nanny, Chunmei Li, 58, has also been charged; if convicted, Xuan could face up to 17 years in state prison and Zhang up to 11 years and eight months.
- California couple charged with abusing at least 14 surrogate-born children.
- 21 children removed from home after two-month-old hospitalised with head injury.
- Couple ran surrogacy company and deceived surrogate mothers.
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Surrogacy is a legal arrangement where a woman carries and gives birth to a child for another person or couple who cannot have children naturally. Regulations exist in most places to protect both the surrogate mothers and the children born through such arrangements.
A California couple who operated a private surrogacy business are accused of deceiving surrogate mothers about how their children would be cared for, and of then mistreating those children placed in their care. The allegations centre on systematic abuse of multiple young children over time.
The case raises concerns about how private surrogacy businesses are monitored and regulated. It prompts questions about what protections are in place for surrogate mothers, how much information they receive about who will care for their children, and whether authorities conduct adequate checks on those running such operations.
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Originally published by BBC World as “California pair charged with abusing at least 14 surrogate-born children”.