Wife of man accused of taking lewd photos arrested

The wife of a Jacksonville man accused of taking nude photos of an intoxicated teenager has been implicated in the crime.

Marie Michelle Cosper, 41, of Hunters Ridge Drive, was charged Monday by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department with common law obstruction of justice, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, accessory after the fact and giving alcohol to a person under age 21. Her bond was set at $50,000.

She is accused of giving a 16-year-old girl Bacardi Rum and Burnett's Vanilla Vodka to drink on March 7, according to warrants.

Later that night, her husband, Dustin Paul Cosper, 38, a Camp Lejeune Marine staff sergeant, entered the area where the girl was sleeping and took nude pictures of her private areas, according to warrants.

He was charged last week with crime against nature, felony secret peeping, and second-degree sexual offense. His bond was set at $50,000 bond.

Marie Cosper was told about the incident by a social worker and asked to preserve the evidence of the alleged crime, but she erased the photos instead, according to affidavits attached to search warrants.

She later told Sheriff's Sgt. John Getty that she erased the pictures from a digital camera, but the alleged victim had already taken the memory card and hid in it in the Cosper home. The evidence was eventually turned over to law enforcement.

She was arrested in the Piney Green K-Mart Shopping Plaza on Monday afternoon without incident and transported to Onslow County Jail, according to the Sheriff's Department.

She is scheduled for a first appearance in court Tuesday.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.