In recent days, national media have picked up on claims publicly made by a Southborough couple against the state and Algonquin Regional High School. Last night, the district superintendent issued a statement rebutting some of the allegations.
The school can’t speak on specifics related to the case involving a former student (who is a minor). But it does refer to legal requirements to report abuse. And other reporting reveals that the student reported alleged physical abuse to a staff member.
The couple’s attorney Vernadette Broyles, (president and general counsel of the Child and Parental Rights Campaign) has has acknowledged that accusations of both physical and sexual abuse were made against the father. But she asserts that DCF and the juvenile court later found the claims to be unfounded.
Several headlines and stories have focused on the battle between the Catholic parents and DCF over their legal battle to stop DCF (Dept of Children & Families) from medically transitioning their child to a different gender. The parents have publicly claimed their child is being kept from them based on their religious beliefs.
Some story leads have insinuated that the school’s reporting of abuse, and DCF taking custody of the child, was based on the trans gender issue. A WCVB report clarifies the 15 year old (now 17) was initially removed by DCF in December 2024 after the teen allegedly reported physical abuse to an ARHS counselor and reported feeling unsafe.
An article by the Boston Herald adds:
Broyles went on to explain that those charges were also brought against the Kutzkos in criminal court, which resulted in no finding of guilt in December 2025 after they reached a non-guilty disposition with prosecutors. Broyles says the Kutzkos reached this agreement after their legal fees exceeded $150,000, resulting in a pre-trial probation. She says the probation set on the Kutzkos will be lifted after one year as long as they commit no crimes during that period.
Finally, Broyles says a restraining order still stands against the parents after an unidentified adult allegedly assisted Sophie in obtaining a restraining order against them after she had been in state custody for nearly a year.
In a “Lighthouse Faith” podcast interview, Joseph and Arlene Kutzko and Broyles accused the high school of secretly transitioning their child. That included that their child was secretly meeting with a school counselor. Broyles said that unbeknownst to the parents, the child “had begun to reject her sex” and the school had begun to use male/non-binary pronouns and hold secret counseling sessions they suspect were “to affirm this rejection of her sex”.
Despite later acknowledging in the interview that there were claims of abuse, Broyles claimed that the school counselor:
reported this family to DCF, we understand because they knew this Catholic family would not affirm the falsehood that their daughter was a boy
The podcast was posted by FoxNews Radio on Sunday. The story spread from there.
[Editor’s Note: The name of the teen in this case has been reported in the parents’ interviews and some media reports. But because the child is a minor who hasn’t issued public statements, I won’t include that.]
Yesterday, I reached out to Principal Sean Bevan and Superintendent Gregory Martineau. I understood the legal requirement to report abuse and that they wouldn’t be able to speak to the specifics involving a student. But, referring to the other claim about the secret transitioning counseling, I asked about the school’s policy on the issue:
Is there a written policy (or guidance that the school follows from the state) about how the school handles it when a student over the age of 14 chooses to use a different gender identity at school but asks to not inform their parents?
As I noted in my message, I tried looking in the Regional School Committee’s policies and the ARHS’ Student Handbook. I couldn’t find a policy that clearly related to that topic.
I haven’t gotten a response. I did get the public statement issued by the school from Martineau. It does not clarify on that topic. However, it vigorously denies “baseless” claims made. Below is his full statement.
“We are aware of the claims being circulated by two individuals whose child formerly attended one of our schools in 2023. 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.
“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. A specific set of criteria governs this. 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.
“The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough believe that all children should be educated in an environment where they are safe, supported, engaged, and challenged. That belief guides the work we do every day and the decisions we make on behalf of our students.
“We are not at liberty to comment directly on anything concerning any student’s health and privacy. Public school districts are bound by federal and state law and education policy when it comes to student health, security and privacy matters. In all such cases, we conduct ourselves appropriately, within the letter and spirit of the law, and with the child’s needs and safety above all other concerns.
“The safety, security, and well-being of our students are always our highest priorities.
“Once again, our school district aggressively and unequivocally denies the claims made by the two individuals.”
As for the parent’s legal battle with DCF over the medical transitioning of their child, according to WCVB‘s reporting on its interview with Broyles yesterday, the parents prevailed on that front:
a juvenile court ordered DCF to stop.
“The court is not going to allow giving testosterone, because DCF took the position that giving testosterone at high doses to a female is ‘ordinary care,'” Broyles said.
