Greenville police arrest suspect in secret peeping incident, was once volunteer at PCS school
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Greenville police arrested a man and charged him in an incident where he was seen placing his phone under a woman’s skirt and recording.
Greenville Police Department Public Information Officer Kristen Hunter told WNCT’s Erin Jenkins the incident happened Monday morning. Officials at the Target at 3040 Evans Street were called around 10:45 a.m. The woman said initially she observed a man who she believed was following her around the store.
She watched the man, who police identified as Thomas Ryan Elliott, 21, and began recording him as he placed his phone on the floor, under a woman who was wearing a skirt and squatting to look at items on a shelf.
The woman who recorded the incident continued recording as she approached Elliott. She alerted store security, who then alerted police. Elliott was then arrested and charged with felony secret peeping.
The woman’s video has since been posted to social media.
On Tuesday, Pitt County Schools released a statement after it was learned Elliott was once a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School in Greenville. It read:
“Pitt County Schools was made aware of a charge filed by the Greenville Police Department on April 15, 2024, against an individual arising from an incident at Target. We can confirm that the individual was a volunteer at Eastern Elementary School.
“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.
“Prior to being granted access to our campuses, volunteers and visitors are screened through Raptor, a program that determines if individuals are listed in sex offender databases. If any individual is flagged in Raptor, they are not granted access to our campuses.“
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