Former Bachelorette Contestant Taylor Frankie Paul Cleared of Domestic Violence Charges

On Tuesday, Taylor Frankie Paul, known for her stint on The Bachelorette, achieved a significant legal triumph when it was revealed she would not be facing charges related to domestic violence.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Slim Gill stated that, after evaluating the evidence presented by both the Draper and West Jordan Police Departments, the decision was made not to pursue charges against Paul. This announcement was shared in a statement acquired by the Daily Mail.

Paul’s future had been uncertain following an alleged domestic violence episode in February involving her former partner, Dakota Mortensen.

Mortensen, aged 33, claimed that Paul, who is 31 and with whom he shares their two-year-old son Ever, had physically assaulted him by choking, striking, and pushing him against a window.

In light of these allegations, ABC chose to cancel Paul’s season of The Bachelorette in March, choosing not to broadcast it amid the controversy surrounding the incident.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Paul and Mortensen to request comment. 

The disgraced Bachelorette star Taylor Frankie Paul, 31, scored a major legal victory on Tuesday when it was announced that she would not face domestic violence charges; pictured March 15 in Hollywood

‘After reviewing reports and evidence submitted to the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges against Taylor Frankie Paul,’ said DA Slim Gill in a statement; she’s pictured in a 2024 mugshot

In his statement, the DA added that Mortensen had ‘reported several incidents’ involving Paul, but some of them had ‘occurred more than three years ago,’ while ‘Any incidents of misdemeanor offenses which are alleged to have occurred more than two years ago are barred by the statute of limitations.’

Gill also noted that alleged domestic violence incidents that had ‘occurred within the statute of limitations have also been reviewed.’

Of those, his office determined that serval did ‘not rise to the level of criminal offenses,’ while he thought the remaining allegations did not have enough evidence for prosecutors to prove the ‘allegations beyond a reasonable [doubt].’ because of a lack of specificity about when the alleged incidents occurred, as well as a lack of corroborating witnesses or evidence.

‘Based on the evidence submitted for screening by the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declines to file any charges,’ Gill added.

However, he concluded by noting that the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office would be willing to prosecute Paul in the future if additional information was obtained to support a potential conviction. 

A statement from Gill’s office to the Daily Mail also noted that the DA had determined that Paul’s probation status would not be challenged.

The Bachelorette’s network, ABC, had been battered last month by increasing criticism for selecting the Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives star to lead the latest iteration of the long-running reality series as an earlier 2023 incident — also involving Mortensen — resurfaced. 

After the arrest, Paul pleaded guilty in abeyance to aggravated assault in August 2023.

The DA said some of the alleged DV incidents occurred three years earlier, beyond the two-year statute of limitations, while incidents within the statute lacked enough evidence and corroborating witness; Paul is pictured in police bodycam footage from her 2023 arrest

The DA also said it would not accuse Paul of violating her probation. However, he added that he was open to charging her in the future if new evidence emerged; Paul is pictured in an ad for The Bachelorette

In exchange, four other charges that had been filed against her were dropped with prejudice, meaning they can not be refiled in the future. 

Rich Ferguson, the chief of police in Draper, Utah, previously told TMZ that he had passed on Paul’s case to the Salt Lake County District Attorney, leaving her fate in his hands.

In the statement from the DA’s office, Gill noted that he made his determination not to charge Paul based on evidence collected by the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, both of which are located in Utah.

Last week, the reality star revealed how she has been coping with the fallout of her ongoing domestic violence scandal as she shared a teary-eyed selfie. 

The controversy has played out publicly, with Paul and Mortensen both accusing one another of violence and receiving temporary protective orders against each other.

After Mortensen was granted a temporary protective order against Paul, she was granted her own order against him on April 8, which bars him from contacting her or coming with 100 yards of her until their hearing on April 30 to determine if the orders will be made permanent.

More recently, Paul is getting through the ordeal with the help of poignant gifts sent to her before the scandal broke. 

In an Instagram post published on Thursday, Paul revealed how she has been comforted by gifts that have ‘been essential for me through this specific time.’  

Paul’s ex Mortensen was granted temporary custody of the two-year-old son, Ever, along with a temporary protective order against him. However, Paul was granted her own temporary protective order against Mortensen last week; he’s pictured in May in LA

Paul shared a tearful selfie last week as she revealed how she had been coping with the aftermath of her domestic violence scandal

A personalized message on her Starbucks cup brought her comfort 

Paul also appears to be leaning into her faith

‘Just want to say THANK YOU to those that have all helped carry. Nothing but gratitude for these gifts given by different people at different times that have been essential for me through this specific time. Thank you to every message, meal, gift, call, prayer, and support of any kind sent. There is the human side of this and then it gets to a point of it being miraculous when you start to see it from a bigger lens.’ 

The post began with a photo of Paul, sitting in her car with tears welling up in her eyes and her hand covering her mouth. ‘It’s miraculous that every essential or reminder I’ve needed was GIVEN through people,’ the selfie read. 

The photos included a picture of a Starbucks beverage she purchased with a comforting message from the barista reminding her she is ‘loved.’ 

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star also appears to be leaning into her faith, showing a photo of Jesus Christ that appeared to have been a housewarming gift from her mouth. 

She also is now working through a book given to her last year that was presented to Paul to provide her with ‘peace and comfort through the good and bad days’. 

Paul filed for her temporary protective order on Tuesday and claimed Mortensen had demonstrated a ‘pattern of abusive conduct and coercive control’ during their relationship, according to court filings obtained by People.

She also described several times in which he allegedly acted violently towards her. Paul also included alleged screenshots of text messages and pictures of bruises that she claimed to have incurred during disputes with Mortensen.

Last month, Mortensen was granted a temporary restraining order against Paul after he characterized her as an ‘immediate threat’ to his safety.

A book she received in September was given to her to provide ‘peace and comfort through the good and bad days’ 

Paul has been de-stressing with the help of tea and bubble baths

Paul’s history with domestic violence has come back to haunt her just days before her season of The Bachelorette was set to debut.

It emerged that filming on her other show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, had been paused as she and Mortensen faced an investigation into domestic assault. 

The Draper City Police Department confirmed to People at the time the existence of an open ‘domestic assault investigation’ into Paul and Mortensen.

‘Allegations have been made in both directions,’ a spokesman for the department told the publication, adding ‘contact was made with involved parties on [February] 24 and 25.’

It came three years after Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault over another domestic violence incident with Mortensen.

Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023 after she threw chairs at Mortensen with her daughter, Indy, in the room.

The young girl could be heard crying as the fighting continued, with Mortensen telling Paul that her daughter ‘just got hit in the head by a metal chair.’

Video of the incident was released and led to her Bachelorette downfall, with ABC announcing it would be canceling her season ‘at this time.’

Paul’s season of The Bachelorette was scrapped after video of her hurling chairs at ex Dakota Mortensen in 2023 was released in what has evolved into a massive legal battle

ABC made the decision to pull the plug on Paul’s season of The Bachelorette after the video was released

‘In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,’ it said. 

In response to the resurfaced footage, Paul’s representative told the Daily Mail, ‘It’s sad to see the latest installment of his never-ending, desperate, attention-seeking, destructive campaign to harm Taylor without any regard for the consequences for their child. 

‘Releasing an old video, which conveniently omits context, on their son’s birthday is a reprehensible attempt to distract from his own behavior.’

Just two days before the video was made public, Mortensen filed for a protective order in Utah, citing alleged incidents that took place on February 23 and 24, according to TMZ.

As part of his filing, he requested temporary custody of their two-year-old son, Ever, and asked that Paul be prohibited from drinking or using drugs during her parenting time.

Mortensen claimed that a verbal argument turned into a physical confrontation, where Paul allegedly choked him.

He alleged that he had to physically remove her hands from his neck, after which she shoved him into a window and struck him.

Describing the situation as ‘chaotic’ and ‘frightening,’ Mortensen said their son woke up from the commotion, which included Paul screaming and yelling, according to TMZ.

The order was granted, as well as his custody request.

After an hour-long hearing on April 7, the judge ruled that Paul will be allowed up to eight hours of supervised visitation with her son each week.

This temporary custody arrangement will remain in place for three weeks and two days, until the next court hearing on April 30.