San Mateo man sentenced to eight months for assaulting nanny

A San Mateo man who was convicted of felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony criminal threats last month for an incident in which he held a knife to his nanny’s throat while blaming her for the illness of his child was sentenced to eight months in county jail and two years probation on Friday, prosecutors said.

Along with the sentencing of Qi Li, 37, prosecutors announced their decision not to seek a new trial on charges of human trafficking, conspiracy to commit human trafficking and labor theft against both Li and his wife Jie Xu, 39. The jury had reported that it could not reach a consensus on those charges in deliberations last month, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

The case stemmed from allegations that Li and and Xu had trafficked a nanny who came to the Bay Area from China to take care of their infant child, with prosecutors accusing the couple of forcing her to work for up to 20 hours per day, seven days a week and withholding her pay, prosecutors said.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Li was also ordered to enroll in 40 hours of anger management counseling and stay away from the victim for a ten-year period, prosecutors said. He must also pay $1,825.02 in restitution, with additional restitution amounts to be set at a hearing on Dec. 11.

The District Attorney’s office noted that Li “took full responsibility for the crimes and apologized to the victim and court.”

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said that his office made the decision to not retry the deadlocked counts because prosecutors felt they would not be successful, especially in Xu’s case because “she never held the knife” and “never made the threats.” He added that the victim, who has returned to China, did not want to have to travel back to testify a second time.

“Judge (Dabel) has always made his call on what he felt was the right sentence, and I respect the decision,” Wagstaffe said. “It’s one we believe should have been harsher. But, again, not an unreasonable decision.”

The victim is requesting a six-figure amount of restitution for lost wages and emotional distress, Wagstaffe added.

Adam Gasner, attorney for Li, said that he agreed with the DA’s decision to not retry the deadlocked counts, noting that the evidence would be more in favor of the defense upon a retrial because evidence related to the assault would be likely excluded.

“(Mr. Li is) a first offender with no prior record, in a case where, although there was certainly scary behavior exhibited by Mr. Li, the nanny suffered no actual injury that required medical attention,” Gasner said. “Because of those facts, we believe that a probationary sentence is consistent with the type of punishment that would be given to anyone else situated in that county.”

Gasner added that the case has raised concerns for him that other incidents between employers and domestic staff in San Mateo County could be investigated or charged as human trafficking.

“(This) should send a very chilling message to anybody in San Mateo county that seeks to hire a nanny or seeks to hire a housekeeper or seeks to hire a dog walker … because anybody in the county could have the finger pointed at them as being a human trafficker,” Gasner added.

Chris Morales, attorney for Xu, said that it was “justified” for the DA’s office to choose not to retry the case against his client.

“(Xu is) relieved. She has a three-year-old daughter that she’s … raising by herself at the moment, so yes, she’s relieved,” Morales said. “She’s still recovering, and she had to take time off from work. … She’s looking for work, trying to recover and put her life back together.”

The couple’s nanny, a 53-year-old woman from China, initially met the couple over video chat after being connected through an employment agency, then obtained a work visa to take care of their nine-month-old child for six months, prosecutors said. Prosecutors alleged that the nanny was “constantly yelled at and berated” and was not allowed to go outside unaccompanied.

The couple was also accused of taking the nanny’s passport in July 2024, and of withholding her salary on multiple occasions.

The confrontation that led to Li’s assault charges began in August 2024. The couple’s baby had gotten sick, and Li blamed the nanny for the illness, prosecutors said. During the incident, Li held a knife to the nanny’s neck. The nanny later told staff at Stanford Hospital about the incident.

In September, the jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of a guilty verdict on the trafficking charges.