Colorado woman alleges she was sexually assaulted at Utah ranch for wayward teens endorsed by Dr. Phil

A Colorado woman whose parents took TV shrink Dr. Phil’s advice and sent her to a boot camp-style ranch in Utah for wayward teens sued the ranch Wednesday charging she was sexually assaulted there.

Hannah Archuleta, now 19, says she was transported against her will to Turn-About Ranch in Escalante directly after she appeared as a guest on Philip McGraw’s eponymous reality TV show on Oct. 22, 2019.

A 10-year-old post still featured prominently on Turn-About Ranch’s website boasts that it “is frequently featured on Dr. Phil’s TV show” and invites readers to “learn more about the teens who he recommends to participate in our program.”

“At that time, I was seventeen years old and suffering from many life traumas. I had recently learned that my mother was terminally ill with liver failure, and I was very vulnerable and heartbroken,” Archuleta told reporters.

Within two weeks of her arrival, a man working at the ranch groped her in one of the facility’s barnyard areas, Archuleta said.

When it happened again, she confided in female staff members who immediately retaliated against her with sadistic and arbitrary work tasks and verbal abuse, Archuleta said.

“I was required to spend extra time picking up horse manure, walking in circles around a horse corral, and sitting at a desk facing a wall for hours. I also had to do forced labor outside in below-freezing temperatures, and sleep on a wooden plank with no pillow,” Archuleta said, adding ranch leaders also refused her access to the bathroom.

The ranch, which markets itself as a Christian residential treatment program for troubled teens, says it teaches “real values” through a combination of therapy, education and cattle farming.

The suit filed in Utah’s 6th Judicial Court demands compensatory and punitive damages for assault, battery, emotional distress and other related accusations.

“We think it is long overdue for Turn-About Ranch to be held accountable for what happened to Hannah when she was there,” said Gloria Allred, Archuleta’s lawyer.

Turn-About Ranch did not respond to a request for comment.

Archuleta said she felt empowered to come forward publicly with her allegations after hearing Paris Hilton testify before the Utah Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee on Feb. 9.

Hilton spoke in support of a bill that would require more Utah state government oversight of youth residential treatment centers. At the hearing, Hilton related her disturbing experiences at Provo Canyon School in Utah, where her parents sent her for more than 11 months at age 16.

“From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face — yelling at me, continuous torture,” Hilton said.

“The staff would say terrible things. They were constantly making me feel bad about myself and bully me. I think it was their goal to break us down. And they were physically abusive, hitting and strangling us. They wanted to instill fear in the kids so we’d be too scared to disobey them.”