Paris Hilton Returns to Utah Boarding School Where She Alleges Abuse

Paris Hilton has returned to the site of a Utah boarding school where she said she was abused as a teenager as part of her years-long campaign to reform what is commonly known as the troubled teen industry.

This time, Hilton was speaking in support of two families who sued Monday, alleging that their children were mistreated at Provo Canyon School, where Hilton spent almost a year in the late 1990s under previous owners.

The hotel heiress and media personality alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.

“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside,” Hilton said.

“Today is that day, and I am not backing down.”

As the school is under new ownership, the administration said it can’t comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton’s time there.

Hilton, 45, called on Utah licensors to shut down the school. She has testified about her experiences there in Congress and state legislatures around the U.S., helping pass laws to protect minors in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has long played an outsized role in the troubled teen industry, a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues.

State health officials placed conditions on Provo Canyon School's license in May, saying the staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries.

The conditions, which include a prohibition on accepting new clients, are set to end Thursday.

Aleah Corona, the mother of the injured student, alleged in Monday's lawsuit that the school did not immediately help the 13-year-old after another resident slammed his head on the ground.

The boy ended up with a fractured jaw and a traumatic brain injury, she said. Another family alleged their daughter had severe stomach pain and nausea for more than a week before the school sought proper medical attention. She then experienced kidney failure, their lawsuit alleges.

The school said it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy laws.

“At Provo Canyon School, the safety, dignity, and well-being of those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities,” the school said in a statement.

Hilton strutted toward the campus in Springville with her middle fingers raised, saying she refused to be intimidated by a place where she once feared for her life every day.

She warned that parents, like her own, can fall victim to misleading marketing tactics that portray teen facilities as safe.