An Oklahoma City couple accused of using a 14-year-old girl as a surrogate for twins has been arrested in Nevada, and investigators allege the biological father of the children is the teen's mother's boyfriend.
Nathan Potier and Erica Palmer, both 36, were taken into custody on March 17 in Sparks, Nevada, on felony warrants issued out of Oklahoma County. Authorities said the pair left Oklahoma after police moved to collect Potier's DNA to determine whether he fathered the teen's twins.
The couple is being held in the Washoe County Detention Facility and is expected to be extradited to Oklahoma, according to People.
Prosecutors have charged Potier with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a child, alleging he impregnated the girl while living in the same home. Palmer faces counts that include enabling or permitting child abuse and desertion of a child under 15, according to court records. Both are being held on six-figure bonds, jail and court records cited by multiple outlets show.
The case began in late 2025 when Oklahoma child welfare workers reported that a 14-year-old girl in the couple's care was pregnant with twins.
Investigators later learned the teen's mother was in a relationship with Potier and that he was suspected of being the biological father. The girl, now 15, and at least one other child from the household have since been placed in state custody, officials said.
According to affidavits, Palmer told investigators she could not have children because she previously had her tubes tied, but wanted to raise a baby with Potier. Officials allege the pair treated the teen as a surrogate, intending to claim and raise the twins as their own, Yahoo News reported.
Detectives obtained a court order to secure Potier's DNA at one of the teen's medical appointments, but the couple allegedly fled Oklahoma before that could happen.
Federal and local task force officers with the U.S. Marshals Service later located Potier and Palmer in the Reno–Sparks area, more than 1,000 miles from Oklahoma City. Authorities coordinated surveillance and then moved in to arrest the couple without incident, according to law enforcement statements.
The investigation is ongoing, and Oklahoma officials say additional or modified charges could be considered once the pair is returned to the state and further evidence is reviewed, as per the Independent.
Originally published on Lawyer Herald
