TikToker Taylor Frankie Paul Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges
TikToker Taylor Frankie Paul is in legal trouble.
The 28-year-old was arrested in Utah in Feb. 17 on suspicion of three misdemeanor charges—assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child—following a confrontation with an unnamed man. According to Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office records obtained by E! News, the #MomTok TikToker was freed from jail Feb. 18 morning on a pre-trial supervised release.
Taylor, a mother of two, could also face an additional charge over the incident.
"Following her jail booking, detectives received additional video evidence related to this case that resulted in the case being referred to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for screening of felony assault charges against Ms. Paul," the Herriman City Police Department said in a statement. "This evidence also suggests that during the incident, Ms. Paul's minor child was injured by an action of Ms. Paul. Subsequently, our investigators are also screening a misdemeanor charge of reckless child abuse with the District Attorney's Office."
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Herriman City Police Department obtained by ABC 4 Utah, a concerned neighbor reportedly called the police, saying they could hear screaming coming from inside a home. According to the outlet, one of the dispatched officers noted in the documents that upon arrival, both Taylor and the alleged victim "started talking to me at the doorway. When I inquired about the circumstances and the victim started to explain, I observed [Taylor] lunge at the victim and began pushing/hitting him."
ABC 4 Utah reported that the police separated the two and determined through interviews that Taylor was intoxicated and was the aggressor of the incident, having allegedly hit the victim multiple times and thrown household items at him, including metal chairs and a wooden child playset, causing injury to the man's elbow and damaging his truck.
According to the news station, the affidavit also states that one of Taylor's children was on the living room couch during the argument and that video evidence suggests she may have been injured as a result of the altercation. The influencer shares daughter Indy, 5, and son Ocean, 2, with ex-husband Tate Paul.
E! News has reached out to Herriman City Police Department and has not heard back.
Her boyfriend Dakota Mortensen told the Daily Mail Feb. 23 that the influencer "never hurt anyone intentionally." He also noted that he had driven to pick up the influencer from a Galentine's Day party before the arrest.
"I'm not even allowed to speak with her," he stated. "We didn't argue. I don't even want the truth to come out. She's so broken right now. I tried to help her."
Dakota further called Taylor a "good mom."
He continued, "she's going through a lot in her life right now. Taylor's been struggling, it's been a hard year for her. She is racked with guilt on her cheating scandal that cost her her marriage."
In May 2022, Taylor drew controversy when she revealed during a TikTok livestream that she and Tate had participated in a "soft swinging" group with other members in the Mormon MomTok community. She admitted she "messed up" when she "stepped out" of an agreement with Tate in which they agreed not to "go all the way" with swapped sexual partners.
"Tate and I are getting divorced," she said about her husband of more than five years. "We played with fire and we got burned."
The following November, Taylor shared on TikTok that she had to terminate an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition, after conceiving her first baby with Dakota.
In December, the influencer reflected on her difficult 2022. "Cheers to the S--TTIEST year of my entire life," Taylor wrote on Instagram. "From rough marriage, to swinging, to divorce, to major loss of some family, best friends, friends, my and kids part time, trying to be be in another relationship but can't let myself be happy, to ectopic pregnancy, to deep depression meanwhile millions of people watched it all and gave their lovey opinions."
She continued, "Merry Christmas from us to you...23 is my number so I'm thinking next year is my year. However, my village never changed and they stayed by my side, for that I'm extremely blessed to have them."
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