A girls’ boarding school where US socialite Paris Hilton alleged she was abused as a teenager has had its licence revoked.
Utah state regulators cited unnecessary restraint, aggressive physical contact and instances of neglect among noncompliance issues at Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus going back to 2025.
Hilton, who has campaigned to close the school and testified before Congress about her experience there in the 1990s, said the facility “failed the children in its care”.
The school said it was considering an appeal against the decision. The girls’ facility is described on its website as an intensive, psychiatric youth residential treatment centre for girls 12 to 18.
The Utah Department of Health and Human services (DHHS) said the school had “failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients”.
Its residential treatment licence has been cancelled and all services at the campus must be terminated by 6 August, said the letter, external from state regulators.
The school has 15 days to challenge the decision.
Social media personality Hilton, 45, said in a statement to the BBC: “For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma.
“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. Today, children still inside that facility know someone is finally coming to protect them.”
