Paris Hilton Claims She Was 'Held Down,' Given Nonconsensual 'Cervical Exams' at Utah Boarding School

Paris Hilton has recounted the sexual abuse she says she experienced at a Utah boarding school. In an article published with The New York Times Tuesday, the 41-year-old claimed she was forced to get cervical exams at 16 years old while at Provo Canyon School in the late 90s.

"Very late at night, this would be around like three or four in the morning, they would take myself and other girls into this room and they would perform medical exams," she explained. "This wasn't even with a doctor. It was with a couple of different staff members, where they would have us lay on the table and put their fingers inside of us. And I don't know what they were doing, but it was definitely not a doctor."

"It was really scary, and it's something that I really had blocked out for many years but it's coming back all the time now, and I think about it," Hilton said while tearing up. "And now, looking back as an adult, that was definitely sexual abuse."

Hilton is just one of more than 50 former patients, employees and experts who detailed to the outlet allegations of physical, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse at these facilities, which were supposed to help children with mental health and behavioral issues.

The heiress was sent to the Utah therapeutic boarding school for 11 months in an attempt to tame her rebellious partying as a teenager.

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A slew of lawsuits and government reports aligned with former patients' claims of horrific treatment children faced at these centers for decades, according to the Times. The outlet also recovered security camera footage of patients being assaulted and restrained.

"Sleep-deprived & heavily medicated, I didn't understand what was happening," Hilton wrote of the alleged sexual abuse on Twitter. "I was forced to lie on a padded table, spread my legs & submit to cervical exams. I cried while they held me down & said, 'No!' They just said, 'Shut up. Be quiet. Stop struggling or you'll go to Obs.'"

"This was a recurring experience not only for me but for other #survivors. I was violated & I am crying as I type this because no one, especially a child, should be sexually abused," Hilton continued. "My childhood was stolen from me & it kills me this is still happening to other innocent children. It's important to open up about these painful moments so I can heal & help put an end to this abuse."

Hilton and others told the Times that the abuse was able to continue for so long, she claims, because staff members were monitoring and restricting their phone conversations with parents.

"The staff member just hung up the phone, screamed at me, told me, 'You have your phone privile ges taken away. We're going to tell your parents that you are manipulating them, that you're lying,'" Hilton said.

Since opening up about the experience, Hilton has been working to reform institutions that administer cruel psychiatric treatment to minors.

"I want these places shut down," Hilton said in her documentary This Is Paris. "I want them to be held accountable. And I want to be a voice for children and now adults everywhere who have had similar experiences. I want it to stop for good and I will do whatever I can to make it happen."

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.