Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton has given public accounts of being sent to Provo Canyon School for 11 months at age 17. In Associated Press coverage of her 2021 Utah legislative testimony, Hilton alleged that staff beat her, forced her to take unknown medication, watched her shower, and sent her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment. The AP also noted that Provo Canyon School said it was under different ownership and could not comment on events before the 2000 sale (Associated Press).

Kat Von D

Tattoo artist and musician Kat Von D publicly said in 2020 that she had also been sent to Provo Canyon School as a teenager. Coverage of her public video account reported that she described a six-month stay, said she left with PTSD, and alleged that she witnessed students being punished, isolated, and force-fed medication, while distinguishing her account from physical and sexual abuse reports made by others (People, Business Insider).

Mario Raffo

The Imprint reported in July 2026 that Mario Raffo, who said he was sent to the boys campus in 2014 at age 15, described life at Provo Canyon School as feeling like a prison. He told the outlet he was glad to hear of the licensing action against the facility and hoped it would remain in effect (The Imprint).