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.

'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.'

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.