California couple harvesting surrogate children charged with abuse

Los Angeles prosecutors arrested Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang on felony child abuse and witness-dissuasion charges, more than a year after a 2-month-old's head injury led investigators to a 10,287-square-foot Arcadia mansion housing at least 16 children. District Attorney Nathan Hochman said he will seek $100 million bail at Tuesday's arraignment.

Fourteen of the children were born through surrogates recruited via a fake agency, with surrogates paid $65,000 to $100,000 per child; at least seven more children have been born through surrogates nationwide since the investigation began. Investigators say 32 motion-activated cameras captured nannies beating children on the couple's instructions, including Xuan allegedly joining in and striking a child while lifting it by one arm.

A $105,000 warrant remains outstanding for a nanny accused of causing the original head injury. A woman who gave birth for the couple as a surrogate said she hopes the arrests spur stronger protections for people involved in surrogacy, egg and sperm donation.

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