The North Charleston Police Department (NCPD) has arrested a 22-year-old man on charges of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor following an investigation that began after he was accused of secretly recording shoppers at a Walmart.

According to police, on May 19, an off-duty officer working security at the Walmart on Rivers Avenue was approached by a woman who reported that a man had been recording her backside while she shopped. Another customer also claimed she had been recorded without her consent.

Officers contacted the suspect, identified as Salvador Aguirre Hernandez of North Charleston, who said he was simply shopping. When asked about the allegations, Hernandez told officers he is frequently accused of recording people because of his appearance and said he had also been accused of doing so at a nearby Dollar Tree.

Police asked Hernandez to show them his cellphone, to which he agreed to do. While reviewing the device, officers reported finding numerous videos allegedly showing Hernandez recording multiple shoppers throughout the store, including the woman who made the complaint and her child. The phone was seized as evidence, and Hernandez was issued a trespass notice. The woman had already left the store before officers could obtain her information for the incident report.

Following a forensic examination of the phone after a search warrant was issued, investigators with NCPD's Special Operations Intelligence Unit said they discovered approximately 56 videos depicting child sexual abuse material.

On Thursday, officers obtained arrest warrants for Hernandez and took him into custody at the Target store where he worked. He was charged with second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center.

The charge stems from the alleged child sexual abuse material found on the phone. The case remains under investigation.