Taylor Frankie Paul could face enhanced charges in connection to a recent alleged domestic violence incident due to her 2023 plea deal.
“Late last week, we requested all the investigative material to screen the most recent allegations for charges,” Salt Lake City District Attorney Sim Gill tells Us Weekly on Monday, March 23. “We made the request because of the potential that if charges are filed, they could be enhanced due to a prior plea in abeyance to a domestic violence offense.”
Earlier this month, multiple media outlets reported that an alleged incident took place between Taylor and her ex, Dakota Mortensen. A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department subsequently confirmed that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” involving the former couple, who share son, Ever, 2.
The alleged dispute subsequently caused Hulu to hit pause on filming season 5 of the hit reality TV series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The Draper City Police Department confirmed that “allegations have been made in both directions” and “contact was made with involved parties on [February] 24th and 25th.”
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“There’s more to the context to everything and it’s unfortunate,” Taylor exclusively told Us at a New York City press dinner on Tuesday, March 17. “It’s been hard. And it sucks to be in this position. And the mother that I am, that is something I will always stand my ground on. I believe that I am a good mother and I have always treated my kids very well. So the headlines that are out right now are very hard to see because that’s not the truth of it. I have always treated my children with respect and I’ve never touched them. So it’s been really hard.”
Days later, on Thursday, March 19, TMZ published a video of the 2023 altercation between Taylor and Dakota. In the video, Taylor can be seen physically assaulting Dakota before throwing multiple chairs at him in the presence of her daughter, seemingly striking the child by accident.
Taylor was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse and criminal mischief. Taylor pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining charges.
Per her plea deal, her aggravated assault charge would drop to a misdemeanor in August 2026, provided she followed the agreement’s conditions. One of those agreed upon conditions was to not violate any laws. Her 36-month probation is currently scheduled to end on August 24, 2026 — but experts warn that her previous plea agreement could be impacted following her most recent domestic violence allegation.
“When someone is on probation for a violent offense, few things are worse than picking up another arrest for a crime of violence — especially when both cases involve allegations of domestic abuse,” criminal defense attorney R.J. Dreiling, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor in the family violence unit, exclusively told Us on Thursday.
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“Even if there ultimately isn’t enough to formally charge herein the most recent case, the prosecutor could still treat it as a probation violation,” he added. “Potentially moving to revoke her prior deal and seek custody time.”
Dakota, for his part, has denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement shortly after TMZ leaked the 2023 footage.
“As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation,” Dakota told Us on Thursday. “I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.”
Dakota subsequently filed for and was awarded temporary custody of Ever and a temporary protective order against Taylor, according to court documents obtained by Us on Friday, March 20.
