Judge warns ex-partners after toddler rides motorcycle during custody hearing

A judge reprimanded Dakota Mortensen during a Wednesday custody hearing after an image showed him riding a motorcycle with his two-year-old son, Ever. The court emphasized that children of that age should be transported only in vehicles with four wheels or appropriate child restraints.

Commissioner Russell Minas told Mortensen, "We’re not gonna do motorcycles anymore," and advised that the child should ride on "nothing with anything less than four wheels." Mortensen’s attorney argued that the child wore a helmet and that the vehicle was an e-bike that traveled only a short distance, but the judge rejected the explanation, asking, "The child is how old? 2?" and stating that such transport is unsafe for a toddler.

The hearing also addressed the ongoing custody arrangement. Taylor Frankie Paul, who shares the child with Mortensen, was granted additional parenting time, including Monday mornings and alternating weekends, following a prior order that gave Mortensen temporary sole custody in March. Both parties have filed protective orders against each other, which were mutually granted in April.

Representatives for Paul and Mortensen did not respond to requests for comment. The judge also reminded both parents not to make disparaging remarks about each other on social media.