Catholic parents fighting for custody of their trans teen whose school helped to transition without their knowledge: report

Catholic parents in Massachusetts are fighting for custody of their trans teen whom they say authorities illegally snatched from their care for secret gender-affirming treatments.

Joseph and Arlene Kutzko are completely cut off from their 17-year-old daughter Sophie, whom child protective services removed from their care in 2024 allegedly because they would not recognize the biological female as a boy, the couple told Fox’s Lighthouse Faith podcast.

Staff at Sophie’s high school in the town of Northborough exposed their daughter to “LGBTQ teachings in topics that conflict with our Catholic beliefs” and eventually counseled her on her own gender transition, the parents claimed.

The couple said they had no idea what was happening until the school alerted state child protective services, which took Sophie from their care.

“We didn’t find out until after Sophie was removed. It came on like a tornado,” Joseph Kutzko said.

The Kutzkos have since found support from Child and Parental Rights Campaign, a conservative advocacy group.

They are fighting to keep Sophie from receiving high-dose testosterone, which doesn’t qualify as “ordinary” medical care and thus requires the consent of the parents or permission from the court, argued Child and Parental Rights Campaign attorney Vernadette Broyless, who spoke with the parents on the Lighthouse podcast.

“We are actively fighting in court to keep them from really poisoning this young lady with testosterone,” Broyless said.

The parents have not been found guilty of child abuse, despite claims of physical abuse at home — for which Joseph Kutzco was arrested. The claims have since been disproven, according to the Fox podcast.

Yet the couple isn’t even allowed to speak with their child — which is “entirely the choice of this minor child,” Broyless said.

As of now, the parents and their attorney have been able to block the state from giving Sophie testosterone treatments, pending a final hearing, Broyless said.

“The most important thing is to bring her back to our family, but a shorter-term goal is to prevent them from giving her testosterone … We’re begging the state, ‘Please, do not give our daughter testosterone.’”