RACCOON TWP. -- A Raccoon Township man was charged after police said he hid a listening device under his wife's bed in an attempt to catch her having an affair. Suzanne Cripe, no age given, of 111 Grays Lane, contacted police Feb. 20 and said she had found a "transmitter device" under her bed, according to a township police report. She told police she thought the device had been placed there by her husband, Wayne Comet Cripe, 66, also of 111 Grays Lane.
The Cripes "have been separated for some time," and were still sharing a house, but they had separate bedrooms, the police report said.
When police made contact with Wayne Cripe he said, "I guess she found the transmitter," before police even asked him any questions, the report said.
Wayne Cripe told the police he put the transmitter under his wife's bed because he wanted to know whether she and her boyfriend were having sex. He told police he was tired of hearing them and wanted to know "if the coast was clear" before entering his home, the report said.
The receiver for the device was in Wayne Cripe's truck, but he told police it didn't work properly and he had thrown it away, the report said.
He was charged with a misdemeanor charge of invasion of privacy and a felony charge of intercept communications, which means he intentionally intercepted communication from someone else without that individual's knowledge.
Cripe was charged by mail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 23.
