Behind the facade of the luxury villa - couple is suspected of abusing at least 14 children

On Tuesday, a 66-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were arrested at their home in the affluent residential area of ​​Arcadia outside Los Angeles.

In the 900 square meter complex, the couple is suspected of having planned and coordinated the gross abuse of children, writes the BBC.

In the material from 32 surveillance cameras set up by the couple themselves, children are seen sitting lined up at desks, watched over by nannies.

The couple is said to have followed, via a large screen, how the nannies exposed the children to violence on a daily basis, including in the form of punches and spanking.

Ran own surrogacy agency

The case came to light last May when the woman sought care for one of the children – a two-month-old boy – for an alleged fall injury. After a house search on the same day, the police took a total of 21 children into custody.

The police believe that the woman gave birth to one or two of the children herself, while the rest came about through surrogacy.

According to the police investigation, the couple ran a surrogacy agency that they used to hire their own surrogate mothers across the United States.

Several of the surrogate mothers state after the incident that they were told that the couple struggled for a long time to get pregnant. Nor should they have known that several women were carrying children for the couple at the same time.

- You don't expect to learn after a pregnancy and delivery that the child may have been abused and neglected, Kayla Elliott, who is now trying to get custody of a child she gave birth to the couple, told NBC News.

Denies crime

The couple denies all the allegations.

The man's lawyer, Mitchell Krems, believes that his client is being subjected to unfair scrutiny because of his Chinese background and his "unusually large family".

The man is also charged with aggravated child abuse after being caught on video picking up a child and repeatedly hitting the child on the head.

If convicted of all charges, he faces a prison sentence of 17 years and four months, while the woman faces up to 11 years and eight months.

The nanny who allegedly caused the injuries to the then two-month-old baby's head risks 12 years in prison. She has been a suspect since the case came to light last year and is believed to have fled to China.