A brave woman confronted a Target shopper who placed his phone on the ground of a store aisle right under another woman's skirt.
The incident, which took place on Monday afternoon (April 15) at a Target in the city of Greenville, North Carolina, resulted in the arrest of 21-year-old Thomas Elliott.
Video footage shows Elliot bending to the ground and putting his cellphone on the floor, with his camera pointing up the female customer's skirt.
Highlights
- A brave woman confronted a man filming up another woman's skirt at a Target, leading to his arrest.
- 21-year-old Thomas Elliott was charged with five counts of secret peeping after being caught at a North Carolina Target.
- Detectives are investigating Elliott's phone for any deleted photos, video files, and information that may be recovered via a forensic examination.
"Excuse me. What are you doing?" the woman filming Elliot can be heard saying in the clip. "I just saw you put that underneath her dress."
Image credits: WITN-TV
The man denied any wrongdoing. "No, ma'am. I really wasn't," he insisted. "I promise."
"You absolutely did. Then show me your phone," the woman responded. "We're gonna call security. You were following me over to the children's section."
Elliot, who volunteers at Eastern Elementary School in Greenville, argued that he was at that part of the store because he was shopping for toys for his pregnant sister.
Upon realizing that the shopper remained firm in her decision to call security, Elliot said, "I really didn't mean to."
Elliot was removed from the store in handcuffs.
Elliott was confronted by another woman, who recorded the incident and shared it on social media
Image credits: Greenville, NC Police Department
"Detectives are aware of Elliott's previous employment in several school settings and are working closely with those employers and neighboring law enforcement agencies to review additional camera footage for any other potential victims," police officers shared on social media following the arrest.
After checking surveillance videos from the department store, the man received two additional charges of felony secret peeping.
“The two additional charges stem from a review of store camera footage from April 15. In total, GPD has identified three separate victims at the store that morning and have subsequently charged him with five counts of secret peeping,” officers wrote.
"We're gonna call security. You were following me over to the children's section," the shopper warned him
Image credits: WITN-TV
Image credits: WITN-TV
A search warrant for the man's phone said Elliott "denied any wrongdoing and showed us (police) the recent pictures he had on his cellphone," as per WITN.
The warrant seeks video files, pictures, text messages, and any "deleted information that may be recovered via a forensic examination."
A Target spokesperson stated that the company has "no tolerance for this type of behavior" and is "working closely with the Greenville Police Department to provide what's needed for their investigation."
The man was charged with five counts of secret peeping
Image credits: Greenville, NC Police Department
Tom McClellan, a Pitt County School spokesman, told WITN in an emailed statement, "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."
Before volunteers and visitors are given campus access, they are screened through Raptor, a program that determines if they are listed in any sex offender databases, McClellan added.
Elliot posted a $5,000 bond and had a first court appearance Tuesday (April 16).
"Hate it happened but glad he got caught," a social media user wrote
