A couple in Arcadia, Calif., were arrested Tuesday in what Los Angeles County prosecutors called a "house of horrors."

Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, are each charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse, USA Today reported. Xuan also faces a child abuse count and five counts of trying to keep witnesses from talking. Zhang faces four of those counts. Both also face a charge of being an accessory after the fact.

The couple have 21 children, most born through surrogacy. At least 15 lived at the couple's mansion, ABC7 reported. All of the children are now in the custody of the county's child welfare agency.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the couple ran a surrogacy business out of the 10,000-square-foot home starting in 2021. Prosecutors say they recruited surrogates across the country and lied to some about their family. One woman was told Zhang was a single mother struggling to have a baby. Some surrogates were paid $65,000 to $135,000.

Prosecutors say nannies watched the young children for hours a day in classroom-style rooms. The home had more than 30 cameras. Over 11 days in spring 2025, nannies were recorded spanking, slapping and hitting children, the complaint says. Prosecutors say Xuan once told a nanny to hit a child harder and then hit the child himself.

"This was a home where these young children were systematically beaten," Hochman said.

The case began when a 2-month-old boy was brought to Children's Hospital Los Angeles with a head injury. Staff grew suspicious and called police. A nanny, Chunmei Li, 58, is charged with hitting the infant. She is still missing.

Xuan's lawyer, Mitchell Krems, told ABC7 that claims his client was abusive are false. He called the prosecutors' account a mischaracterization. The couple pleaded not guilty and are each held on $20 million bail.

What we know: The couple are charged, and the children are in county care.
What we don't: Where the nanny is, and why the couple had so many children.