Salt Lake County prosecutors declined to file charges against Taylor Frankie Paul after reviewing reports and evidence submitted by the Draper Police Department and West Jordan Police Department, closing one legal chapter even as another court date remains on the calendar. The decision was sent Tuesday in letters to both departments.
The newly reviewed allegations surfaced after a video emerged showing Paul throwing metal stools at ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen and apparently hitting one of her children. The case arrived as ABC pulled The Bachelorette from its schedule on March 19, a move that came three days before the show had been set to premiere.
Prosecutors said the complainant reported several incidents, some dating back more than three years, but noted that misdemeanor allegations more than two years old are barred by the statute of limitations. They also said several incidents did not rise to the level of criminal offenses, while the remaining claims lacked enough evidence for charges that must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. In the office's words, some incidents lacked specificity about when and what happened or corroboration.
Paul's legal history was already unsettled. A 2023 incident involving her and Mortensen was caught on film, and in 2024 she entered a guilty plea on one count of aggravated assault in that case, which carried an up to five-year prison sentence. She remains on ongoing probation, and a week earlier a Utah official ruled that she cannot spend unsupervised time with her toddler son with Mortensen.
The court fight is not over. A protective orders hearing for Paul and Mortensen is set for April 30 before Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas, leaving family and domestic disputes to be tested in court even after prosecutors stepped away from criminal charges.
