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    Victim speaks out after horrifying video captures alleged peeping Tom pointing camera up her skirt in Target

    By Katherine Donlevy, Yaron Steinbuch,

    2024-04-17

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2EVCyh_0sTzQ2zK00

    Attention, shoppers: Pervert in aisle 3.

    Horrifying video captured the moment an elementary school volunteer used a cellphone to upskirt a woman at a North Carolina Target on Monday — an incident the victim described as disorienting.

    Thomas Elliott, 21, a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School, is seen pointing the camera under the unsuspecting shopper’s skirt in the Greenville store, WITN reported .

    “No matter how much you try to think you’re going to be prepared for it, it kind of throws you through a loop when it actually happens,” the victim, who asked to remain anonymous, told the outlet.

    The woman was unwittingly browsing the toy section of the retail store when Elliott stealthily crouched beside her, police allege.

    His presence was creepy enough to unsettle her, she recalled.

    Powerlifter catches alleged neighborhood creep after residents spent months worrying about being watched

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Xo0js_0sTzQ2zK00
    North Carolina elementary school volunteer Thomas Elliott, 21, is seen next to a woman shopping at a Target store. WITN
    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3s809p_0sTzQ2zK00
    Video shot by another woman shows the accused perv pointing his camera up her skirt. WITN

    “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,” she said. “I was more distracted by him still lingering in the area.”

    Fortunately, another female shopper was on the lookout and filmed the shocking encounter after she caught Elliot allegedly first following her around the store.

    The woman shouted out to the pervert and ignored his desperate claims that he wasn’t doing “anything inappropriate.”

    She alerted store security and later posted the footage, which showed cops placing Elliott in handcuffs.

    A Pitt County schools spokesperson confirmed that the suspect was a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School.

    Long Island exterminator accused of filming 19-year-old undress after spraying chemicals on her clothes

    “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,” rep Tom McClellan told the outlet.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2RX1Xy_0sTzQ2zK00
    Elliott is led away by cops after store security was called. WITN

    He added that all volunteers and visitors are screened through Raptor, a program that determines if people are on sex offender databases.

    The Opendoor Church in Winterville also told the outlet that Elliott had volunteered there.

    “Thomas Elliott was immediately terminated upon notification of his arrest on Monday,” the church told WITN without providing details on what exactly he did there.

    Authorities said they have not found any inappropriate images of children on Elliott’s phone.

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    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3q5vAr_0sTzQ2zK00
    Thomas Elliott, 21, was charged with felony secret peeping and was dismissed as a school volunteer. Pitt County Sheriff's Office

    A search warrant for the device said he “denied any wrongdoing and showed us (police) the recent pictures he had on his cellphone,” WITN reported.

    The warrant reportedly seeks video files, digital images, text messages, and “deleted information that may be recovered via a forensic examination.”

    Elliott was initially charged with just one count of felony secret peeping, but police upped the counts to three Tuesday after reviewing the viral video.

    He was booked under a $20,000 secured bond.

    “As a woman, it’s concerning and sickening to watch truthfully,” Greenville police spokeswoman Kristen Hunter told the outlet. “We do applaud the woman for capturing this on video and confronting the suspect.”

    She added: “I think the key takeaways are being aware of your surroundings at all times, trusting that gut feeling, and speaking up when you feel some things are off.”

    Elliott’s alleged victim also shared some solemn advice for other women: “This is going on not just in big crazy cities, but here in smaller places like Greenville.”

    The Post has reached out to Target for comment.

    For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.

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