Xuan Guojun and his wife, Silvia Zhang—defendants in the Arcadia surrogacy abuse and neglect case—appeared in the Pasadena Superior Court on the 16th for a bail hearing. Judge Carolina V. Lugo denied their request for unconditional release and refused to lower their bail, maintaining it at $20 million for each defendant. The judge cited the defendants’ substantial wealth and possession of passports from multiple countries as factors indicating a flight risk. The next court appearance is scheduled for December 16.
Although the hearing was originally set for 8:30 a.m., the defendants did not arrive until 3:00 p.m., keeping the assembled media waiting for hours. Both appeared in orange jail uniforms, with a Chinese-language interpreter providing simultaneous translation. Xuan Guojun, wearing a white face mask, sat in a wheelchair in a corner; as his attorney argued for bail—specifically regarding his health—Xuan pointed to a bandage on the back-right side of his head and indicated other medical issues. At times, he exchanged glances with acquaintances in the gallery. Silvia Zhang remained turned away from the public seating area throughout the proceedings, keeping her body angled toward the judge.
Defense attorney Mitchell Krems emphasized that Xuan Guojun has no prior criminal record and poses no threat to the community. He noted that Xuan has not left the United States in the past 17 months, arguing there is no evidence of a flight risk. Krems stated that Xuan’s health has deteriorated significantly during his week-plus in custody, noting that he has not even been able to obtain his prescribed medications. Krems argued that continued detention poses a grave risk to his client’s health, stating, “He requires 32 different medications daily; the jail cannot provide adequate medical care or proper nutrition, causing his health to decline rapidly—he is, in fact, near death.”
Krems further argued that Xuan Guojun no longer has access to the children involved in the case, and that his passports have been seized. He contended that a $20 million bail—an amount higher than what is typically set even for murder suspects—is unreasonable. “If he truly had 20 million dollars in cash at his disposal, he would have secured bail long ago.” The issue is that he cannot quickly liquidate his assets to raise the necessary funds for bail. Furthermore, as there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest that Xuan Guojun would flee if released, the defense has requested that the bail amount be reduced to 5 million dollars.
Judge Carolina V. Lugo stated that the Los Angeles County jail hospital is capable of providing adequate medical care for Xuan Guojun, and noted that his current reliance on a wheelchair is not a permanent condition.
The prosecution spent over half an hour detailing the crimes committed by Xuan Guojun and his wife—many of which had been previously disclosed. These details include the fact that their home was monitored by at least 32 security cameras. The couple has 26 children, most of whom are under the age of five, with the youngest being only one month old. These children were subjected to daily instruction in subjects such as mathematics, English, and Chinese. Nannies would inflict corporal punishment—striking the children’s hands, arms, faces, heads, and backs with sticks—whenever the children failed to maintain a proper seated posture, or if they spoke, laughed, or fell asleep. The children were also kicked, roughly thrown onto tables, yanked by their arms, and repeatedly spanked. “These incidents took place throughout the home—in the hallways, on the stairs, in the entrance hall, the kitchen, the study area, the bathrooms, and the bedrooms.”
The prosecution further emphasized that some footage shows individual children being struck with a stick more than 100 times in a single instance. Xuan Guojun and his wife also coached the children to answer “no” if anyone asked whether their nannies ever hit them. The footage also reveals the couple discussing how the nannies should discipline the children; while they would sometimes caution against appearing overly harsh, at other times they would urge the nannies to strike harder or employ more severe measures. They would summon the nannies to an office to lecture them, often playing back the relevant footage. Although no single blow was severe enough to cause major bodily injury, the persistent and repetitive nature of this abuse is what is truly concerning. Judge Carolina V. Lugo stated that, based on telephone records and the evidence presented, she harbors concerns regarding the flight risk posed by Xuan Guojun and his wife. She noted that there have been prior instances where individuals used the pretext of traveling to Mexico for medical treatment to flee to China. The wealth, financial accounts, and other documentation associated with the couple suggest that these assets could potentially be used to facilitate their departure, providing them with a significant incentive to abscond. Consequently, Judge Carolina V. Lugo has decided to maintain the bail for each of the two defendants at $20 million.
发送反馈