A North Carolina man accused of taking an upskirt video of a Target customer has been pictured with his girlfriend – as his victim breaks her silence.
Thomas Ryan Elliott, 21, was arrested at a store in Greenville on Monday after being caught crouching near a woman wearing a skirt.
The voluntary elementary school worker was seen on camera placing his cellphone on the floor to take the video up her black outfit.
In an interview with WITN, the unidentified victim recalled the disturbing moment she realized she was being recorded.
A North Carolina man accused of taking an upskirt video of a Target customer has been pictured with his girlfriend
A North Carolina man has lost his position volunteering at an elementary school after he was discovered on camera taking an upskirt video of a fellow customer at a local Target
Thomas Elliott, 21, was arrested at a Target in the city of Greenville on Monday afternoon
The unnamed victim recalled the disturbing moment she realized she was being recorded
‘No matter how much you try to think you’re going to be prepared for it, it kind of throws you threw a loop when it actually happens,’ she said.
She recalled the moment she realized the suspect appeared to be suspiciously lingering near her.
‘I decided to get up and scoot over and then at this point I was not focusing on what I was trying to buy anymore,’ the woman said.
‘I was more distracted by him still lingering in the area.’ Once she moved, the suspect crouched behind her and placed his phone under her skirt, according to the victim.
Another person shopping at the Target began filming him after she started to believe he was following the woman around the store.
Elliott is seen on camera continuing to put his phone on the floor to film the female customer.
The woman filming Elliott eventually posted the video to social media, which ended with Elliott being arrested.
When cops detained Elliot, he ‘denied any wrong doing and showed us (police) the recent pictures he had on his cellphone.’
Elliot and his girlfriend are pictured above
Elliot was also a parishioner at Opendoor church and appears to have been recently baptized
The woman filming Elliott eventually posted the video to social media, which ended with Elliott being arrested
Authorities arrested the man, charged him and obtained a search warrant for his cell phone to try and find any inappropriate photos of children
Authorities arrested the man, charged him and obtained a search warrant for his cell phone to try and find any inappropriate photos of children.
They are looking for ‘deleted information that may be recovered via a forensic examination,’ according to WITN.
Police say they have yet to discover anything inappropriate involving children on the phone.
Elliott was released after posting a $5,000 bond and had his first court appearance on Tuesday, Greenville police told DailyMail.com.
The man volunteers at Eastern Elementary School in Greenville, but a spokesperson for the county schools says they will likely not be having him back.
Owen’s religious posts are seen above, as shared on his social media
‘We are disturbed and deeply concerned by video footage of the individual that has been shared on social media and news outlets, and based on the footage, the individual will not be returning to our campuses as a volunteer or hired as an employee,’ said Tom McClellan, Pitt County Schools spokesman.
McClellan added that volunteers and visitors are run through a screening program that finds out if they are on any lists of sex offenders before hiring.
Elliot was also a parishioner at Opendoor church and appears to have been recently baptized.
The church said in a statement: ‘Safety and security are of utmost importance to us. We are taking this situation extremely seriously. He is no longer permitted on our properties.
‘We continue to seek God’s wisdom in the aftermath of this situation. We pray for God’s healing and redemption for all those affected.’
