Sylvia Chang (left) and Guozhen Shuan appear in court. [KTLA Capture]
An Arcadia couple prosecuted for the habitual abuse of young children born through surrogacy appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced on the 6th that additional charges were filed against Guozhen Shuan (66), who was indicted for child abuse. He now faces one count of child abuse, one count of being an accessory after the fact, and five counts of witness tampering. His co-defendant and wife, Sylvia Chang (39), was charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and four counts of witness tampering.
According to prosecutors, the couple made multiple live-in nannies live with the children born via surrogacy at a luxurious mansion in Arcadia. Investigations revealed that the children suffered repeated physical and emotional abuse during this time.
The couple had a total of 21 children, most of whom were born through surrogacy. Prosecutors found that at least 14 of these children were direct victims of abuse.
Inside the mansion, three rooms designated by the couple as ‘learning centers’ were set up. Children were forced to sit at desks for hours every day under the strict supervision of nannies.
The couple meticulously managed the children’s names, dates of birth, and surrogate personal information using spreadsheets. Furthermore, 32 motion-detection cameras were installed inside the house to constantly monitor nannies disciplining and controlling the children.
Video records captured between April 27 and May 7 of last year clearly showed certain nannies physically assaulting or slapping young children.
The full extent of this case came to light when a 2-month-old boy suffered severe head trauma. According to prosecutors, live-in nanny Chunmei Li is accused of assaulting the baby on May 4 of last year. The couple waited two days after the incident to take the baby to the hospital and falsely told medical staff that the infant had ‘fallen off a bed.’
Prosecutors also stated that just before police arrived at the scene on May 7 of last year, Shuan and Chang coerced and instructed some of their children to conceal and deny the fact that they had been assaulted by the nannies. Chang is also accused of instructing a nanny to hide the beating stick used in the assaults.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman pointed out that an incident where such a large number of children were exposed to horrific abuse is unprecedented, describing the mansion as a literal ‘house of horrors’ for the children.
Meanwhile, Shuan’s side denied all allegations. Shuan’s defense attorneys argued that the actual perpetrator of the abuse was a nanny who is currently a fugitive, and that Shuan took the best possible actions to protect his children, such as immediately firing the nanny upon discovering the abuse.
The court set high bails of $20 million each for Shuan and Chang. In addition, an emergency protective order was issued prohibiting all contact between the couple and their children, who have been urgently transferred to protective facilities.
