Parents "Say" State Took Their Trans Kids Because They Denied Their Gender But The Truth...
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| Governor Maura Healey (D-MA) speaks at a Harris-Walz Fighting for Reproductive Freedom press conference at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on September 18, 2024. Photo by Nathan Morris/NurPhoto via Getty Images. |
“Let me be clear about the facts in that matter,” Gov. Healey said speaking to reporters. “First of all, DCF did not remove the child because of a health issue or a gender-affirming care issue. DCF removed the child after there were criminal charges filed against the parents, including the father. As you know, DCF is responsible for the care and well-being of kids, and that’s what happened in this instance.”
The Kutzkos and their lawyer, Vernadette Broyles, have been doing the media circuit and spoke with Fox News’ Christian podcast, Lighthouse Faith and WCVB. They claim that councilors at Algonquin High School had secretly counseled their child on “LGBTQ teachings and topics that conflict with [their] Catholic beliefs.” While the parents say that the DCF took custody of their child because they refused to affirm their son’s gender, they also say that they had never heard of their child wanting to transition before he was taken into custody.
However, court documents located by WBUR reveal the charges of assault and witness intimidation brought against the Kutzkos, both of which targeted their own child.
According to the police report, the day before their son was taken into DCF custody, Joseph Kutzko punched his child “with a closed fist in shoulder area,” and “grabbed the victim by [his] hair numerous times and tugged [him] towards him.” Among other threats and intimidation documented in the report, it was noted that “Joseph raised his balled fist and stated that he wanted to punch the victim” and “Joseph communicated to the victim that he would kill [him] for not singing in tune during a birthday celebration.”
The Kutzko’s child went to the school counsellor the next day, who contacted the police, and Joseph was taken into custody.
In a statement, the Superintendent of the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough, Gregory L. Martineau, pointed out, “Even a cursory glance at the state mandatory reporting guidelines for all school employees should cast wide doubt on the claims made in the national podcast as having absolutely no basis in reality. Speaking generally about our policies and procedures, public school educators are mandated reporters… According to the Commonwealth’s own published materials, mandated reporters must make a report to the Department of Children and Families if ‘they have reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of 18 years is suffering from abuse,’ and they must notify local law enforcement about injury, abuse or neglect.”
Following Joseph’s arrest, the child’s mother, Arlene, then sent texts to their child telling him to “tell the school that [he] was exaggerating and being stupid,” going on to say, “If you solve this tomorrow everything will be okay and we will not get angry.” Arlene also said to delete the text messages or he could go to jail too. Those actions earned Arlene a charge of witness intimidation.
After a year in DCF custody, the Kutzko’s child, then 16, filed a restraining order against his parents.
In interviews, Broyles has made much of the fact of the claim that the Kutzko’s son remains still in DCF custody, even though a judge has committed to dismissing the charges. But that claim is not as simple as it may seem.
The charges hinge on a minor’s word, making it hard to take them to court. The settlement reached with the parents, while allowing them to be considered not-guilty, still requires that Joseph take anger management classes and both parents have to agree to abide by the restraining order and stay away from their child until at least December 2026. The Kutzko’s son will turn 18 next April.
Regardless of the legal proceedings, assault charges are not necessary for DCF to take a child into custody for their own protection. DCF can take custody of a child by swearing to the court that the child is suffering from serious abuse or neglect, is in imminent danger of serious abuse or neglect, or can only be protected from physical or emotional injury if DCF takes them into custody.
The Kutzko’s are also claiming that DCF have put their child on birth control and psychiatric drugs, housed him in the boy’s dormitory, and denied his attendance at Sunday Mass. There is now a legal battle taking place, as the Kutzko’s do not want their son to be provided with testosterone as part of gender-affirming care.
Massachusetts is a gender-affirming care safe-haven with protections for trans healthcare on the books. The Kutzko’s son is now 17 so able to weigh in on their own healthcare decisions.
According to the DCF’s Gender Affirming Medication Consent Policy, medical professionals who advise puberty blockers or hormone treatment for people under 18 must receive consent from the DCF before issuing the prescription. As they are in the DCF’s custody, the DCF becomes the legal protector of the child, and decisions about the child’s medical care that would normally go through a parent or guardian must go through the DCF instead.
The parents now have a hearing scheduled for October 29.
The case takes place against the backdrop of a wider push by the Trump administration through the Department of Education to challenge social transition on the grounds of parental rights. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has been leading a charge against school districts, alleging violations of FERPA, a law that allows parents to view their students’ school records, which can include counseling notes and other personal information about the student.
While Gov. Healey has made it clear that the child was not taken into custody over gender related issues, Republican state Rep. John Gaskey is using it as a reason to reintroduce a parental rights bill.
According to Gaskey, the proposal would prevent schools from allowing a student to socially transition without parental consent and would make it so that a parent’s refusal to socially or medically transition a child wouldn’t itself be regarded as child abuse or neglect (which it already isn’t).
Gaskey was most recently in the news as a result of a previous employee filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
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