REDWOOD CITY – The trial of a San Mateo couple accused of trafficking a nanny who came to the United States from China to care for their infant – in which the prosecution alleged that they withheld her pay and forced her to work seven days per week for up to 20 hours – ended in a partial verdict Tuesday after a jury could not decide unanimously on all charges.
The deadlock came one day after the jury found Qi Li, 37, guilty of felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony criminal threats with an additional aggravation for using a weapon for an incident in which he held a knife to the nanny’s throat while blaming her for his child’s illness, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
The jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of a guilty verdict on three additional charges, filed against both Li and Jie Xu, 39: human trafficking, conspiracy to commit human trafficking and labor theft, prosecutors said.
The mistrial came at the end of a 19-day jury trial overseen by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Sean P. Dabel. The jury deliberated for three days in total before reporting that they could not reach a verdict.
Shin-Mee Chang, chief deputy district attorney for the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, did not respond to a request for comment.
Chris Morales, defense attorney for Xu, said that he was unsurprised that the jury had split and that it “makes sense that there was disagreement,” though he had been hoping for a finding of not guilty for his client. He added that the case was “overcharged” and lacked “serious negotiations.”
“The case just came down to (the nanny’s) credibility. … Some believed her and some didn’t,” Morales said. “At the end of the day, she was owed maybe $700. That’s what this whole case is about – $700.”
Adam Gasner, defense attorney for Li, did not respond to a request for comment.
The 53-year-old woman who was allegedly abused by the couple, a citizen of China, got the job through an employment agency, prosecutors said. After initially meeting the couple over video chat, she got a work visa so she could come to the United States to take care of their nine-month-old baby for a six-month period.
But the prosecution alleged that the couple had more responsibilities for her in mind: working seven days a week, doing all the housework and laundry and even holding the baby while it slept. Some days, she was allegedly expected to work up to 20 hours, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also alleged that Li and Xu did not allow the nanny to go outside alone – and that she was “constantly yelled at and berated.”
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The couple was also accused of not paying the nanny her salary on several occasions, and of taking her passport into their possession in July 2024, prosecutors added.
In August 2024, when the couple’s baby fell ill, prosecutors said, they blamed the nanny. Li confronted her and allegedly held a kitchen knife to her neck. When the baby was taken to Stanford Hospital three days later, the nanny told staff there what had transpired, prompting them to call police and report the incident.
Morales pushed back on the prosecution’s allegations, arguing to the jury that the nanny should not be believed. He maintained that she lied both on her immigration applications and in her testimony at trial.
He added that she came to the United States on a tourist visa despite having a contract for work, and that the agency that employed her had instructed her to memorize tourist attractions in the area to avoid suspicion while going through border control.
“She lied on all of her immigration applications to come here, knowingly lied to come in and work on a tourist visa,” Morales said. “She is coached to present as a tourist, not as an employee so she doesn’t raise any eyebrows.”
Morales added that the nanny made several “extortion attempts,” including telling the jury during cross examinations that she wanted the couple to pay her $1 million.
During the trial, both defendants remained out of custody on $250,000 bail. On Tuesday, Li was remanded into custody with no bail status. Xu is at home with her child, who is now two years old, Morales said.
The defendants will next appear in court on Oct. 16, when the district attorney’s office will make a decision on whether it plans to retry the case. Li will also receive his sentence.
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