Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, residents of Massachusetts, are embroiled in a distressing legal battle they claim began around Thanksgiving in 2024. Their troubles escalated when their daughter, Sophie, started spending long hours at school, allegedly participating in additional math tutoring.
The couple now asserts that the school staff secretly aided their daughter in what they describe as a “gender transition.” The Epoch Times has not independently verified these claims.
Reflecting on the timeline of events, the Kutzkos recounted a phone call they received months after that Thanksgiving. They were informed that Sophie was reluctant to return home, yet the school provided no explanation for her behavior. Later that same day, police arrived at the Kutzko residence and took Joseph into custody.
Sophie alleged that her father, mother, and 20-year-old brother had subjected her to physical abuse. She also made troubling accusations of sexual abuse against both her father and brother. The Kutzko family firmly denies these allegations. According to family accounts, Sophie was initially placed in the custody of her older sister before being moved to a mixed-gender group foster home.
As it stands, Joseph and Arlene have not seen their daughter for nearly two years.
During this long period of separation, the Kutzkos have found themselves continually fighting in court to defend themselves against the abuse allegations and to regain custody of Sophie. They are also attempting to halt the Massachusetts state’s plans to administer testosterone treatment to their daughter.
A judge at the Worcester Juvenile Court in Massachusetts previously intervened, preventing the state from administering testosterone injections to Sophie. A comprehensive trial to address these matters has now been postponed until March of next year, just weeks before Sophie turns 18 years old in April.
“We are racing against time,” Joseph told the Epoch Times, expressing his concern that once Sophie reaches adulthood, Massachusetts may assume control of her guardianship, allowing her to undergo testosterone treatment and gender reassignment surgery.
“By that time, the damage will have been done and it will be irreversible,” he added, visibly shaken, when addressing this issue outside the courtroom on October 29.
The legal struggles faced by the Kutzko family are reminiscent of experiences shared by other parents who have spoken to the Epoch Times about their opposition to state agencies allegedly overstepping parental authority by providing children with gender-related medical interventions.
Like those parents, the Kutzkos were completely unaware that their daughter had begun questioning her gender identity.
The couple describes Sophie as having been actively engaged in her Catholic parish in Southborough, Massachusetts, where she served as a lector and altar server, leading congregants in the recitation of the rosary.
However, they noted a significant shift in her behavior as she began to withdraw from both her family and social circles. Joseph initially attributed this to typical adolescent issues, opting for a “wait and see” approach, contrary to Arlene’s desire to dig deeper into the underlying problems.
“I told my wife, ‘Dear, don’t do this, let her have some space,'” Joseph recalled during an interview with the Epoch Times in October. “Now, I regret that decision.”
He expressed profound trust in his daughter, believing that she holds a “deep love” for him and the family.
“Basically, she’s my princess. I’m willing to give her anything she wants,” he added, his voice trembling with emotion.
Arlene voiced her concerns about the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), suggesting that the agency appears intent on dismantling their family structure.
“They don’t want to talk to my husband; they only want to speak with me, and they constantly insist: ‘If you want to get your daughter back, you have to get rid of your husband,'” she remarked, adding that she understands this implication as a requirement for her to divorce.
The Kutzko family’s attorney informed the Epoch Times that their case is complex, involving multiple courts, jurisdictions, and government agencies.
Vernadette Broyles, the founder of the Child and Parental Rights Campaign (CPRC), suggested that a school counselor who previously met with Sophie is the individual who reported her to the DCF. The Epoch Times has not independently verified this individual’s identity.
Court documents indicate that Joseph was accused of assaulting his daughter and pulling her hair. However, according to Broyles, the DCF’s investigation concluded that these allegations lacked supporting evidence. The Kutzko family denies these accusations.
Broyles added that Joseph reached a pre-trial probation agreement last December, allowing him to avoid trial in exchange for a year-long no-contact stipulation with his daughter, after which his criminal record would be expunged.
She noted that although this means Joseph’s criminal case has been resolved, the state has still not returned their daughter to them. The DCF continues to insist on retaining custody, citing neglect allegations, about which the Kutzkos assert they have not been informed of specific details. Hearings concerning custody disputes have been repeatedly postponed.
Broyles also believes that government agencies are attempting to stall until Sophie turns 18. In a concerning development, she mentioned that their daughter has already sought a restraining order against her parents and brother.
Following a television interview discussing the custody case, Arlene was accused of violating this restraining order and is due in court in November to face these charges.
The Kutzkos indicated that their legal struggles have thus far cost them approximately $150,000, prompting them to set up a crowdfunding page to support their legal defense.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Massachusetts DCF for comment on this matter, but as of the time of reporting, no spokesperson has responded.
Governor Maura Healey has asserted that the state is not removing children for the purpose of facilitating gender reassignment surgery.
“Let me clarify the facts of this case,” she stated during a news conference unrelated to the situation in September. “First, the DCF did not remove this child from the home due to health issues or gender-related care. The child was removed following criminal allegations made against the parents, including her father. As you know, the DCF has the responsibility to ensure the care and welfare of children, and that’s the situation.”
In the United States, numerous parents have struggled to prevent their children from undergoing gender-related medical treatments, only to experience the pain of their children being forcibly removed from their care. Some parents, who have lost similar disputes, have described the tragic consequences their children have faced.
In Connecticut, Elvira Syed shared her journey with the Epoch Times regarding her daughter, Ilene, who was perceived as “very girly” until around the age of 15, when she began displaying symptoms of depression and anxiety.
This period coincided with the return of students to school after the pandemic, during which Ilene’s mother observed her daughter start to embrace various LGBTQ labels, transitioning from bisexual to lesbian, and eventually identifying as nonbinary.
As Ilene approached her 16th birthday, she came out as transgender. According to Syed, she began supporting her daughter’s new identity based on online advice, even legally changing her daughter’s name from Ilene to Raven.
Syed attempted to adjust her language to accommodate her daughter’s preferred pronouns, despite finding it challenging due to their Russian-speaking household.
“I tried to change my wording. For instance, instead of directly asking, ‘Have you eaten?’—since the verb ending indicates gender—I would ask, ‘Has dinner been eaten?'”
She mentioned that her efforts seemed to have some effect but were only temporary.
“I tried my best, really. At first, things seemed to improve, but later, if someone mistakenly referred to her with the wrong pronouns, she would become extremely upset,” Syed explained.
Ilene would lash out or refuse to communicate with her family.
However, during a family visit to explore potential colleges, Syed noticed Ilene looking intently at a boy on campus, prompting her to question everything. Doubting if her daughter was genuinely a lesbian, she began to wonder if her quick acceptance of her daughter’s new identity had been a mistake.
Syed ultimately ceased using male pronouns for Ilene and explained to her that she would allow her to wear “neutral” clothing, provided it was sourced from the women’s section.
In the fall of 2023, Ilene began attending Rider University in New Jersey. According to Syed, matters rapidly deteriorated after this transition. Ilene refused to see her mother and posted on social media that she was seeking legal avenues for independence from her mother.
On December 29, 2023, after a home visit from Connecticut’s DCF, Syed was summoned to court. She was accused of being an “unsafe” mother, which allegedly led to her daughter’s struggles. Syed denied this accusation, asserting her ongoing financial support for Ilene’s college fees and noted that authorities had also expressed concerns about her other child.
Syed recounted that after hearing the case, the judge dismissed the charges, considering that Ilene would turn 18 the next day. However, the rift between mother and daughter deepened.
The DCF demanded that Syed surrender custody of her daughter to the state but Syed insisted she would only do so if the authorities agreed not to perform any gender-affirming surgeries on her daughter for two years. This request was denied, prompting Syed to cease all financial support for Ilene.
The day after Ilene’s 18th birthday, Syed expressed a desire to visit her daughter to celebrate, even offering to co-sign her student loans. According to Syed, her daughter asked campus security to escort her off campus.
From that point on, Syed never saw her daughter alive again.
In August 2024, Ilene began taking testosterone, which Syed claims led to severe mood swings. According to a detective’s report obtained by the Epoch Times, Ilene’s personality, hygiene, and relationships deteriorated sharply in the following months. Friends reported that she was struggling with multiple untreated mental health issues.
Ilene was living with her boyfriend, but after a fight in October of the same year, the couple broke up. That evening, Syed’s daughter tragically died by overdose.
Syed recounted that her daughter’s death left her “heartbroken.”
“You wouldn’t want to see me back then. Honestly, it was the lowest point of my life,” she stated.
In her quest for healing, she has taken to writing a book about her experience, hoping that one day it may be adapted into a film.
“In reality, I’m doing this not just to express my grief but to shine a light on what can happen when parents are isolated, and children are separated from their families by society. What are the potential consequences?” she reflected.
Broyles noted that the CPRC is working with members of Congress to draft legislation that she believes could help prevent such situations from occurring in the future.
Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) have introduced a bill explicitly stating that recognition of a child’s biological sex cannot be classified as “child abuse” and preventing state agencies from removing children solely based on gender ideology.
This legislation, named the “Yaeli Martinez Child Protection Act,” is named after a young woman from California whose family and advocates claim faced similar circumstances after her mother refused to affirm her new identity.
According to these accounts, the young girl underwent testosterone treatments, which did not alleviate her ongoing depression and reportedly resulted in severe bone pain due to side effects. Tragically, she took her own life at the age of 19.
“I don’t want this to happen to our daughter,” Arlene, alongside her husband, said tearfully.