Under guise of 'math help,' HS pushed girl's gender transition — and state took her away, says her Catholic parents' lawyer



Under the guise of "math help," a Massachusetts high school pushed for a girl's gender transition — and soon the state took her away, her Catholic parents' lawyer tells Blaze News.

Indeed, the Trump administration has launched an investigation into the girl's school district after reports that school officials "allegedly facilitated" her "gender transition" without her parents’ "knowledge or consent."

'Sophie should not only be returned to her parents, but there should be civil and criminal penalties for such misconduct by government agents.'

Joseph and Arlene Kutzko said their daughter Sophie has been in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families since December 2024 — when she was 15 — after the Kutzkos refused to recognize her as a boy or call her by male names and pronouns, the Boston Herald reported, adding that the state also issued a permanent restraining order against the Kutzkos.

Vernadette Broyles, the Kutzkos' attorney, told Blaze News that the parents were kept in the dark and told that Sophie was getting "math help" at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough while a counselor allegedly "socially transitioned" her — so the parents were "deceived, actually."

"They're a beautiful family," Broyles told Blaze News, adding that "it's been hell on earth" for the Kutzkos as they do battle with three separate courts in their quest to regain custody of her and are stretched to the limit financially.

Meanwhile, Democrat Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey told the Herald that the gender issue has nothing to do with why the Kutzkos' daughter was taken from them.

“Let me be clear about the facts in that matter," Healey said, according to the paper. "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.”

But Broyles countered to the Herald that physical and sexual abuse charges against the parents were deemed unfounded in juvenile court, and there was no finding of guilt in criminal court following a non-guilty disposition with prosecutors: “It’s very dishonest, because there are no standing charges against them."

Meanwhile, as the Kutzkos' legal fees ballooned past $150,000, Broyles noted to the paper that an unidentified adult allegedly helped Sophie get a restraining order against her parents when she had been in state custody for nearly a year — and that the order still stands.

Broyles noted to Blaze News that the restraining order includes "no contact" and that "it's my understanding that [the Department of Children and Families] supported" the order.

What's more, an allegation of neglect against the Kutzkos still looms — and "it's never been explained to them," Broyles told Blaze News.

But Broyles said she has a good idea what it's all about.

Broyles told Blaze News the "implication" is that the neglect allegation has to do with the Kutzkos' refusal to agree to their daughter's desire for a medical gender transition — "but Massachusetts doesn't want to say that."

Meanwhile, despite no finding of guilt against the parents, the Kutzkos have "not been allowed to see or talk to their daughter or observe her for 20 months," Broyles told Blaze News.

"You've got to be kidding me," their attorney added to Blaze News. "How are these people so dangerous to her? ... I believe we have a state that, at its core, believes these parents are unsafe, [and] they are hiding behind a nebulous neglect. Nothing else adds up."

Despite Sophie having been a "very faithful Catholic girl" and "so active in the church," Broyles told Blaze News that "girls go down rabbit holes that suck them into this belief system" counter to parents' wishes, and that's "probably what happened to" Sophie, while those in custody of her are "championing" her gender transition. To wit: Broyles also told Blaze News that Sophie has been placed on birth control, is living in a male facility, and "now they want to give her testosterone," which her father — a scientist — is totally against.

"She's probably pretty manipulated by now," Broyles told Blaze News.

RELATED: Blaze News investigates: Democrats attack parents and parental rights in Colorado

C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, added to Blaze News that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families "is an unelected and unaccountable government bureaucracy with a long and disreputable history of arbitrary, autocratic, and authoritarian behavior, hostile to both parental rights and religious freedom."

Doyle also told Blaze News that the DCF's actions against the Kutzkos amount to "nothing less than state-sponsored kidnapping and government-inflicted child abuse. It is a direct assault, by rogue state actors, on parental authority, family integrity, and constitutionally protected religious liberty."

Doyle also argued that "Sophie should not only be returned to her parents, but there should be civil and criminal penalties for such misconduct by government agents."

As for the Trump administration's involvement, the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office on Thursday launched an investigation into the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough in Massachusetts to determine whether the school district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in relation to the Kutzkos' case.

“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,” said Frank Miller, director of the Student Privacy Policy Office. “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.”

Algonquin Regional High School and the Northborough-Southborough Regional School District denied all of the Kutzkos' allegations, calling them “baseless” and “grossly insensitive, intrusive, and dangerous toward the child," according to the Herald.

The paper said it has requested comment from the DCF.

The Kutzkos' next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 29, the Herald said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Colorado Bill Would Take Kids Away From Parents Who Refuse To Trans Them

Colorado legislators support requiring courts to consider whether parents embrace a child’s 'gender identity' in determining custody.

Border Security Is More Humane Than Giving Migrant Kids To Strangers Like Biden Did

The Biden administration’s policies ripened conditions for criminal trafficking and created a pedophile paradise.

Colorado’s Trangender Sanctuary State Bill Is Too Radical For California

Colorado's transgender bill defines child sterilization as "medically necessary" and punishes anyone who opposes it.

Colorado Democrats ‘Silence’ State GOP To Push Genital Mutilation And Taxpayer-Funded Abortion

Colorado Democrats want to kill as many babies and mutilate as many children as possible, and make Coloradans pay for it.

Texas Supreme Court To Take Up Case Of Father Who May Lose Custody For Saying His Child Is Not Transgender

'Father contends that [the child] is a normal boy confused in his identity'

How Safe Are Your Parental Rights? It Increasingly Depends On Your Politics

If the issue at hand is your child's confusion about his sex, then your parental rights can be bargained away in court far too easily.

Dwyane Wade wants his son to transition into a girl so that he can 'capitalize on the financial opportunities' from companies like Disney, ex-wife alleges



Former NBA star Dwyane Wade is now facing startling allegations from his ex-wife and the mother of his two children. His ex claims that Wade has pressured their younger son into becoming a girl so that Wade can reap a "profit" from various companies interested in using transgender models for their products.

Back in August, Wade filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court so that his 15-year-old son Zion can legally become a girl and change his name to Zaya. Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, who was married to Wade from 2002 until 2010, contested that filing, saying that it violates their custody agreement.

Their 2011 agreement awarded full custody of Zion and his older brother Zaire, who is now 20, to Wade. However, it also stated that Funches-Wade "shall discuss with and obtain input in the major decisions affecting care, welfare, activities, health, education and religious upbringing." Despite this statement of cooperative parenting, Wade insisted that he retains full authority to make decisions regarding Zion's supposed transgenderism and that he informed Funches-Wade about the transition only as a "courtesy."

Funches-Wade wants Zion to delay making any transition decisions until he is an adult. She also alleged that Wade and his current wife, Gabrielle Union, have a significant financial interest in having Zion become Zaya. She stated that back in March, Wade told her "that a lot of money had been already made and that additional money will be made in relation to our child’s name and gender issue." She also claimed that Wade mentioned several global corporations which were interested in investing in Zaya, though it is unclear whether they would still be interested in him, should he remain Zion.

Zion "came out" as a girl in 2019, when he was just 12. Since he has dressed as a girl and gone by the name Zaya, he has received modeling contracts from Tiffany and Dove. Funches-Wade also alleged in the filing that Disney may also be interested in signing a deal with Zaya.

"'I have concerns that [Wade] may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies," Funches-Wade asserted in the court filing.

"[Wade] told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that there would be endorsements/contracts associated therewith," the filing also states.

Wade discussed Zion's transition into Zaya on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2020.

"Our [then] 12-year-old came home ... and said, 'Hey, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I'm ready to live my truth, and I want to be referenced as 'she' and 'her,' and I would love for you guys to call me Zaya,'" Wade told host Ellen DeGeneres.

"I watched my son, from day one, become into who she now eventually has come into," he added. "And for me, ... nothing changes with my love. Nothing changes in my responsibilities. So, all I had to do now is get smarter, educate myself more. And that’s my job."

A hearing on the case is scheduled for December.

Court threatens mom with losing child custody unless she gets rid of Confederate flag-painted rock



A New York appellate court has threatened a mother with losing custody of her multiracial child unless she gets rid of a "small" rock near her driveway that is painted with a Confederate flag.

What are the details?

The Albany Times-Union reported that a panel of five judges in the state's second-highest court ruled unanimously that the white woman and the black father of her elementary-age child could retain joint custody of their daughter — but that if the mother did not remove the rock, she could face a "change of circumstances" in the custody battle.

Justice Stanley Pritzker, who authored the court's decision, wrote that during a fact-finding hearing, "the mother testified that she has never used any racial slurs in front of the child or at all," but noted that neither the judge who presided over a prior 2018 ruling nor the child's law guardian address the mother's possession of a "small Confederate flag painted rock near her driveway."

"Given that the child is of mixed race, it would seem apparent that the presence of the flag is not in the child's best interests, as the mother must encourage and teach the child to embrace her mixed race identity, rather than thrust her into a world that only makes sense through the tortured lens of cognitive dissonance," Pritzker wrote.

"Further, and viewed pragmatically, the presence of the Confederate flag is a symbol inflaming the already strained relationship between the parties," the judge continued. "As such, while recognizing that the First Amendment protects the mother's right to display the flag if it is not removed by June 1, 2021, its continued presence shall constitute a change in circumstances and Family Court shall factor this into any future best interests analysis."

According to The Washington Post, the court's decision was clear: "The rock puts the woman's child custody at risk." The newspaper noted that the mother was not represented by an attorney.

Jason Leifer, the attorney serving as the child's law guardian, told the Times-Union that while he agrees the rock needs to go, he's concerned about the precedent the court's ruling could set for future custody battles between parents.

"I think parties will now raise objections to many symbols and opinions held by the other party, including some that the majority of society does not find offensive," Leifer told the outlet. "What's going to have to happen is this — if the issue is raised the court will need to hear evidence of the child how the child's well-being is negatively affected by a parent's views and opinions. In some cases this will be easy, such as if a child is being indoctrinated into a hate group, but in many cases it won't be so easy."

Leifer told the Associated Press, "I just think that this thing opens a door to litigating... someone's personal opinions on something."