Paris Hilton has publicly backed 34 former students suing a shuttered New York boarding school over alleged child abuse and trafficking.
The reality star and advocate, 45, issued a statement supporting survivors of the Family Foundation School ahead of a key federal court hearing set for Nov. 4 in Binghamton. Several survivors are expected to testify at that hearing about abuse they say they endured at the isolated Catskills campus.
“I stand with the survivors of Family Foundation School as they seek justice and work to hold accountable those who abused them, along with every institution and individual that enabled or profited from that abuse,” Hilton said in a statement shared with The Post.
“No child should ever be harmed in the name of treatment. I hope this lawsuit helps bring the accountability these survivors deserve and sends a clear message that those who exploit or abuse children cannot escape responsibility.”
Hilton has become a prominent voice against the so-called troubled-teen industry since revealing her own alleged abuse as a teenager at Utah’s Provo Canyon School. Her backing of the Family Foundation School survivors extends that advocacy to a new group of accusers in Upstate New York.
The Family Foundation School operated from 1984 until it closed in 2014 on a 158-acre campus in Hancock, nestled in the Catskill Mountains. The institution shuttered amid mounting allegations of systemic abuse by administrators and staff.
The lawsuits describe horrific treatment including sexual assault, strip searches, being forced to dig their own graves, and being made to eat their own vomit. The legal action targets not only the school and its corporate entity, Education Plus, but also outside companies accused of profiting while ignoring warning signs.
Attorney Elizabeth Johannesen, whose firm Johannesen & Umana is leading the litigation, said the financial connections transformed the case in her clients’ eyes. “Learning that their abuse generated profit is what showed our clients they had not simply been abused but were victims of labor and sex trafficking,” she said.
The lawsuits also name NBT Bank, which lent against the campus, and food company Sysco. Johannesen accused both of looking the other way because they were profiting from the school.
“Epstein’s victims recovered more than $430 million from three banks under federal trafficking law, and we intend to pursue every knowing beneficiary here to the fullest extent of that law,” Johannesen said.
The legal team anticipates at least 50 lawsuits will ultimately be filed against the school and its network of beneficiaries.
One accuser, sent to the school at age 14 in 2000, alleged in her lawsuit that she was isolated, assaulted and deprived of food. School staff allegedly forced her to chop off her hair because it was “too sexual,” according to the filing.
Another accuser, identified only as VP, testified against former teacher Paul Geer in his criminal trial and spoke about lasting damage.
“Our bodies were violated, our childhoods were destroyed, and others walked away with financial benefits while we were left to live with the trauma. We were children, not commodities,” they told The Post.
Geer, a former teacher at the disgraced school, was sentenced in 2025 to 27 years in prison on federal charges. He was convicted of two counts of coercing and enticing children to travel across state lines for unlawful sexual activity and two counts of transporting children across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the Department of Justice.
Rachele Van Arsdale, another survivor who filed suit, saw her life unravel after Geer’s trial. Her mental health deteriorated, she lost her law practice, and she lost custody of her own child. While preparing to file her lawsuit, she was admitted to an inpatient clinic in California, requiring Johannesen and legal partner Luis Umana to fly across the country to sign the complaint.
“I learned for the first time that I had not just been abused but trafficked by people who were supposed to help me and instead exploited me to make money. My life completely collapsed,” Van Arsdale said.
Education Plus, NBT Bank and Sysco did not return requests for comment.
The Nov. 4 hearing in Binghamton will mark a significant step forward for survivors seeking to hold multiple institutions financially accountable.