Disturbing new details in the case of a Chinese-American couple accused of farming 21 children inside their Southern California mansion were revealed in court on Friday.<\/p>\n
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, are accused of keeping a \u201chouse of horrors\u201d<\/a> at their $4 million Arcadia mansion, where prosecutors allege child abuse stemming from their mass surrogacy operation.<\/p>\n At a bail hearing on Friday, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney MacKenzie Teymouri\u00a0said the couple hid the nearly two dozen children from the world, restricting them from ever seeing sunlight, according to the Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, are accused of keeping a \u201chouse of horrors\u201d at their $4 million Arcadia mansion. David Butow\/Los Angeles Times via AP<\/p>\n The couple allegedly farmed 21 surrogate children at their home. VCG via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t go to school outside the home. They didn\u2019t go to playgrounds. They didn\u2019t go to restaurants,\u201d Teymouri said. \u201cThey lived in this home and witnessed violence in the kitchen, in the bathrooms, in the bedrooms, in the foyer.\u201d<\/p>\n Cops also found the cremated remains of a surrogate child that had been sent to the house after the baby died in Florida, Teymouri added. She said the pair never opened the box and appeared to be \u201cindifferent\u201d to the fate of their children, the Times reported.<\/p>\n The young tykes sat in \u201cmakeshift classrooms\u201d inside the home from dawn till dusk, prosecutors said. AP Photo\/Jae C. Hong<\/p>\n Authorities raided the home earlier this month. ABC 7<\/p>\n The children were expected to work nearly 24\/7, learning \u201cmath, Mandarin and English,\u201d prosecutors said. They were also allegedly ordered to sit up straight and listen or suffer beatings.<\/p>\n The children sat in \u201cmakeshift classrooms\u201d from the dawn till dusk, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom sunup, to sundown, these children, whether they\u2019re in a high chair or old enough to sit at a desk, sat in what can only be described as makeshift classrooms,\u201d Teymouri said, according to the Times.<\/p>\n The children were allegedly ordered to sit up straight and listen or suffer beatings.<\/p>\n The couple was arrested for child endangerment. KTLA<\/p>\n The children stayed indoors for so long that when the Department of Children and Family Services took them into custody last year, they were \u201cscared to go to the park because they hadn\u2019t been outside,\u201d Teymouri added.<\/p>\n Prosecutors obtained video of Xuan sweeping a flashlight through the beds of sleeping children and would beat any child that was awake. Teymouri also noted she needed to mute video footage she reviewed due to the \u201cconstant screaming\u201d of children in the background as a result of the persistent beatings.<\/p>\n Xuan has been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, child abuse and accessory after the fact, along with five counts of dissuading a witness.<\/p>\n Zhang was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and accessory after the fact, along with four counts of dissuading a witness.<\/p>\n Xuan\u2019s attorney said said the couple are victims of anti-Chinese sentiment in the US. CA Post<\/p>\n Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Caroline Lugo held the couple in lieu of $20 million bail, concurring with the prosecutors that they were a flight risk. <\/p>\n Teymouri revealed their nanny, Chunmei Li, fled to China with the couple\u2019s help. Li had been charged with child abuse for hitting a child so hard they required hospitalization for brain bleeding.<\/p>\n Mitchell Krems, Xuan\u2019s attorney, said his client had never been convicted of a crime, blamed the abuse on nannies, and said the couple are victims of anti-Chinese sentiment in the US.<\/p>\n He also argued his client should be freed because of his deteriorating condition in police custody because of leukemia treatments that have contributed to him being permanently bound to a wheelchair. <\/p>\n Zhang\u2019s attorney argued that the expensive bail was unncessary, citing the children\u2019s luxury accommodations.<\/p>\n \u201cThese kids, there was no cigarette burn marks. There was no cages. There was no dog collars. There was no abuse by belts. These kids were well nutritioned, they were getting education every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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