Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2023 Domestic Violence Case Takes Major Turn as Judge Ends Probation and Reduces Felony Charge

More than three years after Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2023 arrest placed her private life under intense public scrutiny, one major chapter of the reality television star’s legal troubles has officially reached a turning point.

During a court hearing on Friday, August 7, a judge determined that Paul had successfully completed the probation requirements connected to a plea agreement stemming from the highly publicized 2023 domestic violence incident involving her former boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

The ruling means the 32-year-old Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is no longer on probation.

As part of the decision, the court also amended Paul’s aggravated assault charge from a felony to a Class A misdemeanor. Her attorney, Jon Williams, appeared in court on her behalf, while Paul herself did not attend the hearing.

The outcome marks a significant development in a case that has followed Paul for years and returned to the headlines in 2026 after video footage of the original confrontation was publicly released.

The incident dates back to 2023, when police responded to a domestic disturbance involving Paul and Mortensen.

Footage from the confrontation, later released publicly by TMZ, showed Paul throwing metal chairs in Mortensen’s direction during an argument. Her daughter Indy, who was 5 years old at the time, was also present in the room.

Paul was arrested and ultimately entered a guilty plea in abeyance to aggravated assault.

Under that type of plea arrangement, a defendant agrees to comply with specific court-imposed conditions for a designated period. If those conditions are completed successfully, the legal consequences can be reduced or the charge may eventually be dismissed or amended.

Paul was placed on three years of probation.

Other charges connected to the incident, including a domestic violence offense involving the presence of a child, had already been dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors could not refile those same charges.

Friday’s ruling confirmed that Paul had fulfilled the obligations required under the agreement, allowing the aggravated assault felony charge to be reduced to a misdemeanor.

However, while the 2023 criminal case has now moved toward resolution, Paul’s legal conflicts with Mortensen are far from over.

The former couple, who share their 2-year-old son Ever, have spent much of 2026 involved in separate domestic violence investigations, competing protective-order requests and a contentious custody dispute.

Two Utah police departments opened domestic violence investigations involving the former couple in February.

Since then, both Paul and Mortensen have made serious allegations against each other.

Paul has accused Mortensen in court filings of stalking her and has alleged that during one incident he slammed her head into the dashboard of his truck.

Mortensen, meanwhile, has submitted photographs that he says document injuries he suffered during confrontations with Paul. The images reportedly included scratches that Mortensen alleged were caused during physical altercations.

The accusations have not only intensified the legal battle between the former partners but have also raised questions about how they will continue managing their shared parenting responsibilities.

In March, Mortensen filed for a protective order against Paul.

Several weeks later, Paul filed for a protective order against Mortensen as well.

On April 30, a judge granted protective orders to both parties for a period of three years.

The legal disputes then expanded into questions surrounding custody and parenting time for their son, Ever.

Throughout the summer, Paul and Mortensen appeared in court multiple times as they fought over custody arrangements.

At their most recent custody hearing on July 8, a judge expanded Paul’s parenting time. Under the revised arrangement, she was permitted to have Ever on alternating weekends through Monday morning, along with the same weekday each week.

The weekday visits did not include overnight stays.

The custody fight is not the only family-related legal issue Paul is currently confronting.

In July, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services filed a petition asking a juvenile court to examine the welfare of Paul’s three children.

Paul shares Indy, 8, and Ocean, 6, with her former husband Tate Paul. Her youngest child, Ever, is her son with Mortensen.

According to reports about the petition, the agency asked the juvenile court to determine whether the children should legally be considered “abused, neglected, or dependent.”

The filing also reportedly requested protective supervision and the appointment of a guardian ad litem, an independent representative whose responsibility would be to advocate for the children’s interests in court.

Paul later publicly challenged several of the allegations contained in the petition.

In an Instagram video posted July 18, she addressed claims concerning her parenting and rejected accusations that she had forced Indy to regularly change Ever’s diapers or had left a DCFS representative responsible for securing her home following an emotional outburst.

Paul acknowledged that she does not consider herself a perfect parent but strongly defended her relationship with her children.

“I don’t claim to be this mother of the year,” she said.

Paul then argued that her children know how deeply she cares for them, adding that she believed they would choose to live with her if asked.

“I can confidently say if you were to put any of my children up on a stand, they’re choosing mom and mom’s house every time,” she said. “And I say that with full confidence because I love my children. They know that I love them.”

The juvenile court proceedings have also generated controversy over how information from the case became public.

After TMZ published details reportedly connected to the DCFS filing, a source close to Paul criticized the disclosure, noting that juvenile court proceedings are generally kept private in order to protect children.

The source argued that releasing information from the case undermined that purpose and suggested that the disclosure reflected motivations unrelated to the children’s best interests.

The source also claimed that the publicly reported version of the case did not include concerns that DCFS had allegedly documented regarding the other side of the dispute.

Those concerns, according to the source, had already been recorded in district court proceedings and with law enforcement.

Ultimately, the source said, the juvenile court would have the responsibility of reviewing the entire body of evidence before making any conclusions.

For Paul, the August 7 ruling represents a clear legal victory in relation to the original 2023 criminal case.

Successfully completing probation and having the aggravated assault charge reduced from a felony to a Class A misdemeanor removes one major legal burden that has followed her for several years.

Yet the broader conflict surrounding Paul and Mortensen remains unresolved.

Domestic violence investigations are still part of the former couple’s ongoing legal history. Their mutual protective orders remain in effect. Custody arrangements involving Ever continue to be handled through the courts, while the separate DCFS petition places additional attention on the welfare of Paul’s three children.

What began as a single domestic disturbance in 2023 has therefore developed into a much larger and more complicated series of legal proceedings involving criminal charges, allegations from both former partners, protective orders, parenting rights and child-welfare concerns.

The latest court ruling may close one chapter.

But for Taylor Frankie Paul, Dakota Mortensen and their family, the legal story is clearly not over yet.