LOGAN — Any hope for a more collegial atmosphere in county government was dashed by a pre-Valentine’s Day lawsuit from Terryl Warner, which revealed animosity is still strong between some officials. This time, the former director of the Victim Advocates Department took aim at County Attorney Taylor Sorensen, claiming she was used as a pawn to get him elected and then forced to resign because of his intimidation.
In the 21 page complaint, Warner alleges the county violated the Utah Protection of Public Employees Act, that safeguards public workers who report, instances of government waste, misuse of public funds, violations of laws, abuse of authority, or gross mismanagement; preventing retaliatory actions from their employers for making such reports. She also claims Sorensen pressured her to run his campaign, and attempt to smear his challenger, public defender Cameron Cox.
Warner went after Cox previously, most notably during a surprise appearance before the Cache County Council, Mar. 26, 2024. She told council members how she had received two threatening text messages in February from Cox. When she reported those texts to County Executive David Zook, he not only failed to take them seriously, but also admonished her for “gossiping.”
Cox acknowledged sending those texts but insisted that they were not intended to be threatening.
In her lawsuit, Warner claims Sorensen gained significant control over the Victim Services Division and her job, when he was appointed as the interim Cache County Attorney on Jan. 9, 2024. He then allegedly coerced her to report Cox’s text messages to multiple media outlets (including KVNU), law enforcement and the Lt. Governor’s Office.
Although Sorensen had allegedly urged Warner to file charges and complaints against Cox, following Sorensen’s victory at the Republican Convention, he told Warner that nothing could be done about the supposed hostile work environment. That led her to consider pursuing legal action against the County.
In July, Warner claims Sorensen began to try and get rid of her. She was conducting an audit and uncovered expenses that had been incorrectly billed to both the Victim Services Division and the American Rescue Plan Act, showing the County had double dipped on several expenditures. When she brought this to the attention of the interim attorney, she was reportedly placed on paid administrative leave for misappropriating funds, due to her wanting to continue a lawsuit against the County for its handling of Cox’s text messages.
Warner’s law suit alleges Sorensen continued to be intimidating, suspending her for five days without pay and demoting her from director to standard victim advocate. She claims to have felt “extremely intimidated,” until being forced to resign in December after more than 28 years of employment.
“I am not willing to go through that nightmare again,” Warner wrote in her resignation letter. “It has been clear from the past months that Mr. Sorensen’s goal was to remove me from my position and force me out of Cache County Employment.”
The lawsuit asks for Warner to receive back pay and benefits; along with compensation for her emotional distress and damaged reputation; and cost for attorney fees. It has been assigned to a judge but no hearing has been scheduled yet.