Paris Hilton said she is feeling “so validated” after Utah officials revoked the license for the Springville campus of Provo Canyon School, the residential treatment facility where she has long alleged she experienced abuse as a teenager.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services announced the license revocation on July 6, citing what it described as the provider’s failure to meet health and safety requirements and a pattern of ongoing noncompliance with state rules. Under the agency’s order, the facility’s license has been revoked effective immediately, services must end by Aug. 6 and the campus is prohibited from accepting new enrollments.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Hilton called the state’s decision a milestone not only for herself but for the many former students who have spent years speaking publicly about their experiences.
“For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,” Hilton said. “Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care.”
“I was one of those children. I know what it feels like to cry for help and believe no one is coming,” she said. “Today, children still inside that facility know someone is finally coming to protect them.”
“The little girl in me who was told she would never be believed feels so validated today,” the statement continued. “We were telling the truth. We always were.”
Calling the revocation a reminder that “no institution is too powerful to be held accountable,” Hilton added, “When survivors refuse to stay silent, change is possible.”
The Utah Department of Health notice cites numerous alleged violations, including failures to protect clients from harm and maintain adequate staffing, among other violations.
Hilton also marked the announcement on Instagram, where she described it as “the news I’ve been fighting and praying for” and thanked fellow survivors and advocates who helped bring attention to the issue over the years.
The state’s latest action comes after a series of enforcement measures and legal challenges involving Provo Canyon School. Just last month Utah officials imposed conditions on the Provo campus’ license, citing health and safety concerns.
ABC affiliate KTVX also reported that the campus later faced emergency sanctions over allegations that staff delayed medical treatment for a client. The outlet said separate lawsuits allege the school failed to protect a 13-year-old boy during an assault and delayed care for a teenage girl, who allegedly developed a serious kidney condition after waiting nine days for medical treatment.
Hilton first publicly shared her allegations against Provo Canyon School in her 2020 YouTube Originals documentary This Is Paris. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that same year, she said she chose to speak out after remaining silent for years about what she alleges she experienced at the Utah boarding school as a teenager.
“I buried my truth for so long,” Hilton told PEOPLE at the time. “But I’m proud of the strong woman I’ve become. People might assume everything in my life came easy to me, but I want to show the world who I truly am.”
Hilton said she spent 11 months at Provo Canyon School after being sent there by her parents as a teenager. She alleged that the abuse began almost immediately after she arrived.
“It was supposed to be a school, but [classes] were not the focus at all,” Hilton said. “From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face, yelling at me, continuous torture.”
She further alleged that staff members verbally and physically abused students, claiming they “wanted to instill fear in the kids so we’d be too scared to disobey them.” Four of her former classmates also appeared in the documentary, making similar allegations about their experiences at the school.
Hilton also alleged that she was placed in solitary confinement after another student reported that she planned to run away and said she suffered panic attacks while attending the school. She claimed attempts to tell her parents what was happening were unsuccessful because her communications were closely monitored.
“I was having panic attacks and crying every single day,” Hilton said. “I was just so miserable. I felt like a prisoner and I hated life.”
At the time, when reached for comment by PEOPLE regarding Hilton’s allegations, Provo Canyon School said it could not address claims involving the period before its current ownership.
“Originally opened in 1971, Provo Canyon School was sold by its previous ownership in August 2000. We therefore cannot comment on the operations or patient experience prior to this time,” the school said.
Source: people.com
