Catholic parents press Massachusetts to return daughter as new DCF records emerge

Joseph and Arlene Kutzko are continuing their fight to regain custody of their 17-year-old daughter and prevent Massachusetts officials from giving her testosterone as part of a gender “transition” after newly reported records showed that the state’s child-welfare agency deemed abuse allegations against the parents “unsupported.” 

The agency reportedly classified a separate neglect allegation against both parents as “supported,” but the Catholic couple’s attorney says it has never clearly explained that finding’s basis.

The couple discussed the case with the National Catholic Register. The outlet also obtained from the family’s attorney copies of letters that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) sent the family. The letters provide new context after Democratic Gov. Maura Healey disputed the parents’ account of why DCF took custody of their daughter, Sophie.

“First of all, DCF did not remove the child because of a health issue or a gender-affirming-care issue,” Healey said during a Sept. 15 press conference, according to a video shared online. “DCF removed the child after there were criminal charges filed against the parents, including the father. And, as you know, DCF is responsible for the care and well-being of kids. And that’s what happened in this instance.”

Healey’s comments came days after the Kutzkos discussed the case with their attorney Vernadette Broyles during a Sept. 13 episode of Fox News’ “Lighthouse Faith” podcast.

As Zeale News previously reported, the Kutzkos allege that staff at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough began socially “transitioning” Sophie, who was 15 at the time, without their knowledge. They say school officials later reported the family to DCF after the parents refused, because of their Catholic faith, to use a male name and male pronouns for their daughter. 

>> Catholic parents fight Massachusetts for custody after school socially ‘transitioned’ their daughter <<

Joseph was arrested Jan. 29, 2025 — the same day DCF took custody of Sophie at school — on misdemeanor charges of assault, assault and battery, and threatening to commit a crime, according to the Register. 

A police filing in Westborough District Court alleged that Joseph struck Sophie in the shoulder, pulled her hair, and threatened to kill her “for not singing in tune during a birthday celebration” the previous day.

The Register reported that the DCF also sent the parents a letter Jan. 29 identifying allegations of physical and sexual abuse against Joseph and physical abuse against Arlene. 

Police charged Arlene in July 2025 with intimidating a witness. A police filing alleged that she sent Sophie text messages Jan. 29 telling her to “tell the school that she was exaggerating and being stupid” and to “delete all of the text messages.” 

The parents have vehemently denied abusing Sophie.

DCF deemed abuse allegations ‘unsupported’

Two weeks after Joseph’s arrest, DCF, according to the Register, sent the family another letter classifying the abuse allegations against both parents as “unsupported,” meaning the agency found no reasonable cause to believe that the alleged abuse occurred. 

The newspaper reported that DCF also added an allegation of “neglect” against both parents and classified it as “supported,” but the letter reportedly did not describe the conduct underlying that determination.

Broyles, president and chief counsel of the Child & Parent Rights Campaign, said DCF has not clearly explained the neglect allegation during the more than 19 months since it took custody of Sophie. 

“What are you neglecting? It has never been clearly explained to them — always very nebulous,” Broyles told the Register.

In December 2025, prosecutors offered to drop all criminal charges against Joseph and Arlene if they agreed to pretrial probation and other conditions, including complying with the restraining order and requiring Joseph to complete an anger management course. The arrangement did not require the parents to admit guilt.

The Kutzkos reluctantly accepted the agreement because of the expense of litigating multiple cases, according to Broyles. Joseph’s next court date is scheduled for Dec. 15, a spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office told the Register.

Joseph said the couple has spent about $150,000 on legal fees and expects to spend another $100,000. They are raising money online to cover those expenses.

Parents fight proposed testosterone medical intervention

The parents are separately challenging DCF in juvenile court, where proceedings and records are sealed. DCF is seeking authorization from a juvenile court judge to administer testosterone to Sophie because the Kutzkos have withheld their consent, according to the attorney’s account cited in Zeale News’ initial coverage.

Broyles said a judge has temporarily blocked the medical intervention, and a hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

The parents told the Register that they have neither seen nor spoken with Sophie since January 2025. A court issued a no-contact restraining order against the parents on Sophie’s behalf in July 2025, although Broyles said it remains unclear who requested it.

Arlene also alleged that state social workers repeatedly told her she would need to separate from Joseph to regain contact with Sophie.

“They’re always telling me, ‘If you want your daughter back to you, you have to kick out your husband. You have to divorce him,’” Arlene said.

“I said, ‘No way, why are you telling me this? He’s a good husband; he’s a good father. We’ve been married for 26 years,’” she added, according to the newspaper.

The parents said they have received limited information about Sophie through online meetings with social workers and court filings. Joseph told the Register that Sophie is now a senior at Waltham High School and rooms with boys because the state considers her male.

Joseph also said state officials told the family that Sophie takes birth control pills and antipsychotic medications, has experienced brain fog and low blood pressure, and has been hospitalized for mental health problems, according to the newspaper. 

Joseph reportedly said state officials denied the parents’ requests for Sophie to attend Sunday Mass or meet with a Catholic priest because she now rejects Catholicism.

Education department investigating school district 

The Department of Education announced in a Sept. 17 press release that its Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) had opened an investigation into whether the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough violated federal law by allegedly helping a minor student — whom the release did not name — socially “transition” without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

“Parents have a right to know what is happening with their children at school, particularly when it concerns deeply personal matters involving their health and well-being,” Frank Miller, director of the SPPO, said in the release. “These egregious allegations are not an isolated problem. Families deserve answers, and SPPO will thoroughly investigate reports like this and hold any educational institution that violates federal law accountable.” 

The office is examining possible violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which governs parental access to student education records, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which provides parental protections involving certain student surveys, analyses and evaluations.

School district denies allegations as ‘baseless’ 

The Northborough-Southborough Regional School District denied the family’s accusations in a Sept. 15 written statement cited by WCVB 5, an ABC affiliate.

“The district unequivocally denies the claims made about the school district in a recent national media podcast as not merely baseless but grossly insensitive, intrusive, and dangerous toward the child who was named in the media report,” the school district’s superintendent, Gregory Martineau, said.

Asked by the Register whether they trusted the public school system before DCF took custody of Sophie, Joseph said they had previously objected to the school’s approach to LGBT issues but believed they could address those influences by speaking regularly with their daughter. 

“Well, academically, it's a fairly decent school, but we have long-standing issues with their overzealous LGBTQ,” Joseph told the Register. “I mean, it goes beyond tolerance. It goes into the realm of promotion and secret pronouns and all of that.”

“We thought that by talking to our daughter all the time that we could manage that,” he reportedly added, “but obviously we were wrong.”