Carmen Duran, an Odenton mother charged with two counts of felony child abuse, was awarded conditional custody yesterday of her daughters Courtney, 11, and Erin, 9, over the objections of the girls' father and grandmother.

District Judge Robert C. Wilcox awarded the mother custody on condition that her fiance, L.C. Bogard III, vacates the family home.

Bogard also is charged with two counts of child abuse and two counts of first-degree assault in a beating that the girls received.

An attorney for Courtney and Erin immediately filed an emergency petition to stop the ruling. The petition will be heard in Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Courtney and Erin's father, who has shown records in the case to The Sun, has asked that their last name not be published.

The case illustrates the frustration of investigating and dealing with suspected child abuse, lawyers say.

"The girls don't have a history of hysteria or lying," said Margaret Mead, the girls' attorney. "They are credible young ladies, and to ignore their cries for help is unconscionable."

Neither Duran nor Bogard could be reached for comment.

Pub Date: 10/14/98