Woman Gets Probation for Stealing Daughter : Courts: Catherine Thomas is ordered to perform community service for her role in the bitter custody battle over Courtney Thomas, 5.

A woman convicted of stealing her own child from the legal father was sentenced Tuesday to three years probation, ending another chapter in the bizarre custody battle over 5-year-old Courtney Thomas.

Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel also ordered the mother, 46-year-old Catherine F. Thomas of Van Nuys, to perform 100 hours of community service and obey the terms of a family court order that revoked all her parental rights, including visits, and awarded sole custody to Kevin Thomas of Van Nuys, a former family friend who changed his name to match the girl’s. Thomas has no blood ties to the child.

The sentencing Tuesday was part of a plea bargain designed to keep Catherine Thomas out of jail for the sake of her child, said attorneys for the prosecution and defense. Accused of absconding with Courtney last July 29 during a monitored visit, Thomas on Nov. 22 pleaded no contest to a charge of felony child stealing.

It was the second time Thomas was charged with illegally fleeing with the girl during the bitter custody dispute, and she could have received as much as three years in state prison.

“I didn’t want a protracted trial with the child coming out the loser,” Deputy District Atty. Linda Acaldo said.

Catherine Thomas is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 18 for a hearing on whether she should pay $15,000 in restitution to Kevin Thomas, who was reunited with Courtney in September after the fugitive mother and child were seized in a Pittsburgh train station. Missing about seven weeks, they were recognized by another traveler the morning after a news show on their case had been nationally televised.

Kevin Thomas said Tuesday he was satisfied with the sentence. “I did not want her jailed. I didn’t see how that could serve any purpose whatsoever,” he said.

He also said he wants Courtney to see her mother, as long as security measures are taken to prevent another abduction. Courtney, who suffers from several congenital birth defects, is back in school, has been receiving counseling, and includes her mother and two half-brothers in her prayers each night, Kevin Thomas said.

Attorneys for Catherine Thomas said Tuesday they have been trying to arrange for visitation but that Kevin Thomas and his lawyer have insisted on the presence of $35-an-hour private security guards they say their client cannot afford.

“Whatever we come up with won’t be good enough for him,” said David S. Kestenbaum, one of three attorneys who have been representing the mother for free.

The dispute over how to arrange for visits between the mother and daughter--who have not seen each other since they returned from Pittsburgh in September--is but the latest complication in the 2 1/2-year-old custody case.

Kevin Thomas, an openly gay bill collector, says he and Catherine Thomas, a single mother of three, agreed to raise Courtney together and that the girl has considered him her father since birth.

But Catherine Thomas says Kevin has exaggerated his role as a friend and frequent baby-sitter and managed to legally steal her daughter from her. She still hopes to appeal the family court decision that declared Kevin Thomas legal father of Courtney, but may not have the money to cover the legal costs, her attorneys said.