Paris Hilton Speaks Out After US Boys Allegedly Abused—’Dropped Everything’

Paris Hilton rushed to Jamaica to support teenage boys from the U.S. at a court hearing where they recounted their alleged abuse.

Seven boys were were taken into the care of Jamaican welfare authorities after reports of abuse on February 8 at a school for troubled teens, according to NBC News. Reports vary on the exact number of the teens.

“I was shocked at how horrific the allegations were. When I found out that the boys asked for me to come and support them at their next court hearing in Jamaica, I dropped everything to ensure I could be there,” Hilton, 43, told Newsweek in an interview on Saturday.

“No child deserves to testify about the abuse they have suffered alone, especially in a foreign country. I am really proud that I was able to show up and model to these young men that there are people out there that believe them, and care for them.”

Hilton has long spoken out about her experiences in a similar institution when she was a teen and founded her own advocacy group, 11:11 Media Impact, to end what she describes as the “troubled teen industry.”

The boys were pupils at the Atlantis Leadership Academy in Treasure Beach, in the south of the Caribbean island. The academy is self-described as a faith-based boarding academy that offers correctional behavior education and leadership skills for troubled teens. It has been accused of mistreating its attendees, with some reporting severe weight loss and physical punishment.

According to local media outlet The Gleaner, Dirk Harrison, the academy’s attorney and its founder Randall Cook, said the claim by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency that there was evidence of abuse at the academy “amounts to a premature conclusion before the finalisation of the investigative process.” He added that Cook was eager to clear his name.

Newsweek has reached out to Atlantis by email for comment on Saturday morning. The Jamaican Child Protection and Family Services Agency was also contacted.

A lawyer representing one of the boys told Newsweek the school had not informed his mother that he had been removed from the academy, and she only learned of his situation when he managed to call her a week later.

The Jamaican Child Protection and Family Services Agency informed parents the boy had been removed in an email after receiving information itself that boys there “were being mistreated, amounting to abuse,” and it was working with U.S. authorities to return the boys home, according to NBC News.

Cook sent a letter to parents after February 8, writing “With our reputation and transparency, no one could believe something like this could have occurred, nor that we are in any way an abusive organization,” per NBC News.

“No contact has been made with either Atlantis Leadership Academy or Mr Cook, but we observe that public comments, laced with innuendos have been made which are both premature, inflammatory, inappropriate and against the principles of due process,” said Cook’s attorney in a letter to the Jamaican child protection agency, per The Gleaner.

Michael McFarland is an attorney with expertise on institutional abuse and is representing one of the boys at the court hearing which was to determine if he could be released from the care of child protection. The 16-year-old was sent to the institution by his mother who now believes she was sold a “false bill of goods” by Atlantis about the services the school would provide.

“They don’t have qualified staff, they don’t train anyone and there’s no appropriate policies in place. There’s nothing there for these kids,” McFarland told Newsweek. “Many of them are high needs… and they’re not fed well and being abused.”

His client was first sent to Atlantis in May 2023 and McFarland said in that time received no formal education but was instead put in front of a laptop to watch an online course.

What did allegedly happen in those nine months was a program designed to “break their spirits” and “break them physically.”

According to McFarland, his client said “he was physically punched, shoved into a wall, slammed down in a chokehold and put in restraints very regularly.”

“I saw him yesterday [April 2] and he was complaining about pain his shoulder because of this happened to him a lot,” the attorney said, adding the students were also forced to complete “extreme physical exercises,” including doing 3,000 jumping jacks or filling tubs of sand and running with them.

“There’s also just the constant threat of violence or threat of force over them and they are constantly being watched and not allowed to contact their parents.”

His 16-year-old client also lost a worrying amount of weight while at the academy, he said, but was looking forward to returning home with his mother.

McFarland said his client will be released next week and that a follow-up hearing for the others will take place on April 11.

‘Preys on Vulnerable Families’

Hilton has said her experience was very similar to what the boys allegedly went through at Atlantis. She said she was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night against her will by men she didn’t know and faced aggressive therapies, which have given her life-long trauma.

Until recently, she primarily campaigned against the “troubled teen industry” in the U.S until she “learned of a significant loophole that exists where families can forcefully send their child to facilities internationally and hold them there until they are 18.”

“We are becoming aware of the fact that the majority of kids in international placements in Jamaica are adopted children too,” Hilton explained.

“This for-profit industry is extremely complex and preys on vulnerable families, the child welfare system, the juvenile justice system, and youth with disabilities. I hope to raise as much awareness as possible, and tell these youths’ stories, to enact positive and lasting change.”

Hilton added that the U.S. must be “more prepared to handle these cases when issues arise, because parents sign over their rights to the facility owners when they send their children away, these children have ended up in child protective custody in Jamaica.”

“There are currently very few systems in place for American intervention to ensure the swift safety and placement of these children in more appropriate, and loving homes,” she said.

“We need to be working in the best interest of these children and I will continue advocating to ensure that is the case.”

As a mom-of-two, Hilton shared her best advice to parents if the child is telling them they are being abused.

“To any parent considering placing your child in the Troubled Teen Industry, please do your research,” she urged.

“It has been proven that this industry has significant deceptive marketing that aims to capture your attention in your most vulnerable state. These facilities will also label your children as liars and manipulators and prevent confidential communication with them.”

Hilton added: “My biggest recommendation is to trust what your child says, instead of taking the side of these oftentimes corrupt facility owners you have never met even, running facilities you have never been to.”