Father Accused of Trying to Sell 2-Year-Old Girl

A father from Van Nuys was arrested for trying to sell his 2-year-old daughter to an Encino couple for $90,000, Los Angeles police said Friday.

Alan Daniel, 30, was arrested Thursday afternoon on suspicion of slavery after the couple notified detectives that Daniel had asked for an initial payment of $15,000 for his child and the rest of the money in installments, Detective Dick Schauer said.

Daniel was taken to Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail, Lt. Al Durrer said. But bail was increased to $35,000 after he phoned the couple from jail Thursday night and made “various threats,” Durrer said.

Police said Daniel gave his daughter to the couple, Ronald and Susan Miulli, to care for about seven months ago, shortly after he received custody of the child and her 4-year-old brother.

Daniel, a house painter, lived with his son and occasionally visited his daughter, Schauer said.

The couple had been attempting to adopt the girl with Daniel’s permission, Schauer said. But Daniel asked for money for the child Thursday morning and the Miullis, who “weren’t in a position to make a buy,” phoned police, Schauer said.

Larry Brown, an attorney for the couple, said that the Miullis have wanted a baby for a long time but that Susan Miulli has had a series of miscarriages. He said they were approached earlier this year by the pediatrician for Daniel’s daughter, who said Daniel was looking for a home for the child and arranged for the girl to live with the Miullis.

The couple and Daniel were attempting to make plans for a legal, private adoption when the father “made his sales pitch,” Brown said.

The whereabouts of the mother of the two children is not known, police said. The boy and girl were placed in protective custody with the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services.

The Miullis will appear in court Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether they should receive temporary custody of the child or if the girl should be placed in a foster home, Brown said.