Paris Hilton has said that as a teenager in the late 1990s she was sent to a series of boarding schools and residential treatment programs where she endured roughly two years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, culminating in her time at Provo Canyon School in Utah. She stayed silent for nearly two decades, then went public in a 2020 documentary and has since helped pass reform laws in Utah, 15 other states, and Congress.
How She Ended Up There
Hilton was 16 when two strangers pulled her from her bed in the middle of the night and transported her to the first facility. Her parents, Kathy and Rick Hilton, had been told that “tough love” at residential programs would address behavioral issues tied to a diagnosed attention deficit disorder.1USA Today. Paris Hilton Child Abuse Provo Canyon School Troubled Teen
Over nearly two years she cycled through several programs. Her first placement was at a school run by CEDU Educational Services, followed by facilities called Ascent and Cascade. She ran away from more than one before being sent to Provo Canyon School, which she has called “the worst of the worst.”2USA Today. Paris the Memoir Revelations Paris Hilton
In her 2023 memoir, Hilton described being subjected to an invasive cavity search when she arrived at her first facility. Shoes were withheld as a “privilege” that had to be earned. Students were forced into nightly group rituals called “raps” in which they had to insult and denigrate one another for hours. Staff monitored every phone call and would hang up if she tried to tell her parents what was happening, then tell her parents she was being “manipulative.”3NPR. Paris Hilton Book Memoir Interview
What She Says Happened at Provo Canyon School
Provo Canyon, a locked residential treatment center in Utah, is the facility behind her most serious allegations. Hilton has described the abuse there as “verbal, emotional and physical,” saying staff yelled at and hit students and forced children to sit in chairs staring at walls all day.4Today. Paris Hilton Shares Photos Taken After Alleged Boarding School Abuse She said she was force-fed medications that made her feel as though her “head was disconnected from my body,” and when she refused the pills she was placed in solitary confinement.3NPR. Paris Hilton Book Memoir Interview She has described being forced to undress and sit in a cold solitary cell for up to 20 hours at a stretch.
In later accounts, Hilton has gone further, alleging she was sexually abused by staff and subjected to forced gynecological exams performed by male staff members in the middle of the night.1USA Today. Paris Hilton Child Abuse Provo Canyon School Troubled Teen Her memoir described multiple instances of what she called “digital rape,” along with beatings by staff after failed escape attempts.2USA Today. Paris the Memoir Revelations Paris Hilton She has attributed lasting effects to the experience, including insomnia, recurring nightmares, difficulty with intimacy, and complications she connects to her later struggles with IVF.
A representative for Provo Canyon School responded to Hilton’s initial allegations by saying the facility was sold in August 2000 and that current management could not comment on operations before that time.5Today. Paris Hilton Says She Was Abused Boarding School Teen Charter Medical Corporation had acquired the school in 1986, and after Charter’s bankruptcy, Universal Health Services purchased it in 2000.6Unsilenced. Provo Canyon School Timeline
Why She Stayed Silent, and When She Spoke
Hilton has written that she initially vowed never to speak of the schools, and that she built the “Paris Hilton” public persona in part as a way to suppress the trauma.3NPR. Paris Hilton Book Memoir Interview She has said Demi Lovato’s 2017 documentary pushed her to reconsider, deciding the potential impact on the troubled teen industry mattered more than the risk to her brand.7E! Online. Paris Hilton Memoir Biggest Revelations
On September 14, 2020, her documentary This Is Paris premiered on her YouTube channel. In it she detailed the abuse and reconnected with former classmates to launch a social media campaign called Breaking Code Silence, aimed at raising awareness of abuses in youth residential programs.5Today. Paris Hilton Says She Was Abused Boarding School Teen The documentary has been seen by an estimated 50 million viewers.8Paris Hilton. Paris Impact Work Within weeks, nearly 200,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Provo Canyon’s closure.9KUER. Provo Canyon School Parent Company Awarded Grant to Provide Telehealth Services in Rural Utah On October 9, 2020, Hilton and hundreds of survivors held a silent march near the school in Provo.
The Laws She Helped Pass
On February 8, 2021, Hilton testified before the Utah State Senate Judiciary Committee in support of S.B. 127, a bill to tighten oversight of residential youth treatment programs. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House 70–2, and Governor Spencer Cox signed it in March 2021. The law capped the use of restraints, drugs, and isolation rooms; prohibited chemical sedation or mechanical restraints without authorization from the Utah Office of Licensing; required facilities to document and report every instance of physical restraint and seclusion; and mandated four inspections a year, including unannounced visits.10Center for Health Journalism. Paris Hilton Utah Lawmaker Celebrate Restrictions Troubled Teen Centers
She went on to back legislation in Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, and California. California decertified all out-of-state congregate care placements for youth in its juvenile justice and child welfare systems in December 2020.8Paris Hilton. Paris Impact Work
On October 20, 2021, Hilton held a press conference on Capitol Hill with Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Ro Khanna to push the Accountability for Congregate Care Act.8Paris Hilton. Paris Impact Work In June 2024 she testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, describing the troubled teen industry as a “$23 billion” for-profit sector and urging passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. She told lawmakers she had been “ripped from my bed in the middle of the night” at 16 and was then “force-fed medications,” “sexually abused by staff,” and “thrown into solitary confinement.”11Congress.gov. Hilton Testimony
The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act passed both chambers and was signed into law on December 23, 2024, as Public Law No. 118-194. The Senate passed it by unanimous consent; the House voted 373–33. The law requires the Department of Health and Human Services to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a study on the nature and prevalence of child abuse in youth residential programs, with a report due within three years and biennial follow-ups over a ten-year period.12Congress.gov. S. 1351 – Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act
Where Provo Canyon School Stands Now
Regulatory trouble at Provo Canyon has continued. In May 2026, Utah health officials imposed emergency sanctions on the school after a 13-year-old resident identified as “AC” suffered a fractured jaw and traumatic brain injury when another resident slammed his head into the ground on May 14, 2026. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the boy’s mother, Aleah Corona, alleges staff allowed tensions between students to escalate and did not call 911 or summon emergency medical assistance promptly, creating a roughly one-hour delay in treatment.13The Salt Lake Tribune. Provo Canyon School Lawsuit Teen A second lawsuit, filed the same day on behalf of a student identified as “B.H.,” alleges the school failed to seek emergency care despite two days of vomiting, instead administering ibuprofen. Physicians at Primary Children’s Hospital later determined the ibuprofen contributed to acute kidney injury, and the student now requires dialysis three times a week.14Deseret News. Paris Hilton Provo Canyon School Lawsuit Press Conference Abuse Allegations Both suits name Universal Health Services as a defendant.
In June 2026, Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services placed the facility under strict conditions. The school cannot accept new admissions, must undergo unannounced state inspections at its own expense, must report every safety concern from a client, parent, or guardian to the state Division of Licensing and Background Checks, and must revise its emergency policies to require immediate 911 calls when safety is at risk.15ABC4. DHHS Strict Conditions Provo Canyon School The Provo campus is operating under a conditional license and is not permitted to accept new admissions.16Provo Canyon School. Provo Canyon School Homepage
On June 15, 2026, Hilton returned to the Springville campus to protest outside the facility and stand with the two families filing suit. She appeared at a press conference alongside Aleah Corona and other survivors. “I refuse to be intimidated by a place where I once feared for my life every day,” she said, calling on Utah licensing officials to shut the school down.17U.S. News. Paris Hilton Returns to Utah Troubled Teen Facility to Support Others Who Allege Mistreatment By that point her advocacy had contributed to protection laws in Utah and 15 other states.18Houston Chronicle. Paris Hilton Returns to Utah Troubled Teen