Mother Jailed in Child Theft Case : Court: Catherine F. Thomas faces trial on charges of child abduction after disappearing with her daughter, who remains with legal father.

A Thousand Oaks mother was ordered held on $120,000 bail Wednesday to face trial on charges of stealing her 5-year-old daughter after a court awarded custody of the child to an unrelated Van Nuys man.

Catherine F. Thomas pleaded not guilty to charges of felony child abduction during a brief appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court. She was ordered jailed for lack of bail, despite the pleas of her attorney, David S. Kestenbaum of Van Nuys, that she would never flee and leave her daughter behind.

“The best collateral in this case, quite frankly, your honor, is her daughter Courtney,” Kestenbaum told Commissioner Abraham Khan. “She won’t leave the state of California until the custody matter is resolved.”

But Khan responded that while Thomas’ motives for running may have been considered noble by some, “the plain truth of the matter is she was in blatant violation of two court orders” for twice fleeing with the child after a Los Angeles judge awarded custody of the girl to Kevin Thomas, a former family friend.

At Kestenbaum’s request, the county Probation Department will prepare a report on whether bail should be lowered, and a hearing was scheduled for Sept. 29.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda Acaldo argued that Thomas deserved to remain in jail because of her history of running off with the child, because she is a Canadian citizen and could easily seek refuge across the border, and because she continued to resist returning to Los Angeles after she was arrested last week in Pittsburgh.

The mother and child disappeared July 29 during a monitored visit. As a result, Catherine Thomas’ visitation rights were revoked and an arrest warrant was issued the next day.

Already convicted of misdemeanor child stealing for fleeing with Courtney last year, she could be sentenced to up to four years in custody if found guilty on the new charges.

The girl remained in the custody of Kevin Thomas, who says that he and Catherine Thomas had agreed to raise the girl together.

Catherine Thomas denies that they had such a formal arrangement and says that Kevin Thomas has exaggerated his role as a frequent baby-sitter. Kevin Thomas, a 43-year-old, openly gay bill collector, changed his surname from McCain to Thomas in 1988 to match the child’s, and is listed as father on her birth certificate, although all parties agree Courtney was fathered by another man.

Kestenbaum said Wednesday that the Los Angeles County Children’s Services Department is evaluating whether the child should remain with Kevin Thomas, in spite of a Los Angeles Superior Court order issued in June that granted him paternity rights and custody.

Kestenbaum said county social workers were checking on allegations that Kevin Thomas and his longtime live-in lover had violent arguments that might be detrimental to a child. A spokesman for the department said confidentiality laws prevented him from commenting.

According to Kestenbaum, the allegations arose last week in Pittsburgh, when a local psychologist examined Courtney on an emergency basis after her mother’s arrest.

Courtney described one violent argument to the psychologist, Dr. Irvin Guyett, who told a Pittsburgh judge that the child’s statements and fearful reactions to Kevin Thomas’ name seemed spontaneous and not coached, said attorney Patricia Diulus-Myers, who represented Catherine Thomas there.

Kevin Thomas could not be reached Wednesday. His attorney, Glen H. Schwartz of Encino, said he had no knowledge of the allegations or of the county’s investigation.