A Lancaster judge Wednesday allowed a woman accused of trying to give her two young sons away and of being under the influence to be released on her own recognizance, over the prosecution's objection.
Sarah Elise Nilson, 32, had been jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail in a case charging her and the boys' father, Vincent Paul Calogero, 38, with two felony counts each of attempting to abandon a child, two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and one misdemeanor count each of being under the influence of a central nervous system stimulant.
Nilson was released shortly after the court hearing, according to jail records.
Calogero -- who was not in the Lancaster courtroom for the hearing -- remains jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail, according to court officials. He is due in court Friday for a bail-review hearing.
The two pleaded not guilty Monday.
Calogero and Nilson allegedly offered their two boys -- ages 1 and 2 -- to strangers nearly a week ago. The two are also charged with keeping the children in unsafe conditions, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Deputies responded last Thursday afternoon to a report of possible child abuse in the 100 block of Avenue J-8, according to Ali Villalobos of the Lancaster sheriff's station.
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"Deputies contacted the suspects and determined ... (they) had been attempting to give and/or sell their children in exchange for money or drugs," Villalobos alleged.
The charging document does not make any reference to the two allegedly trying to sell their children, who were placed in the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services.
If convicted, Calogero and Nilson could each face up to five years in county jail, according to the District Attorney's Office.
