Lawyers for American Airlines said in court documents that the 9-year-old girl “should have known” that an American Airlines flight attendant had hidden a camera under the toilet seat.
According to federal prosecutors, the employee, Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, is accused of photographing multiple girls between the ages of 7 and 14 over a seven-month period last year.
The family’s lawyer, Paul Llewellyn, said one of the victims’ families who sued the airline and Ms Thompson was “outraged” and “angry” that the airline’s lawyers had blamed the girl. told Fox News Digital.
“I can’t even imagine a world in which it’s appropriate to point to a 9-year-old and say, ‘That’s not our fault. It’s your fault. You should have known you were being filmed,'” Llewellyn said. Asked if she’d faced this defense before, she shook her head energetically. “No, never.”
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Estes Carter Thompson III is facing multiple federal charges for allegedly hiding a camera under the toilet seat of an American Airlines flight and filming girls as young as 7 years old.
“The injuries and illnesses allegedly sustained by Plaintiff Mary Doe were primarily caused by Plaintiff’s own negligence and fault, and were primarily caused by Plaintiff’s use of a toilet that was damaged and which Plaintiff knew or should have known contained a visibly illuminated recording device,” American Airlines lawyers said in a court filing.
Ms Llewellyn said the family were “absolutely appalled” when they read the defence.
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She was one of four alleged victims, ages 7, 9, 11 and 14. One of the victims said she found a cell phone camera flash under a toilet seat that was covered in tape and a sign that read “Toilet Seat Broken,” according to a civil lawsuit.
She took the photos and showed them to her mother, which infuriated her parents, according to the lawsuit.
her father is Airline “What the hell happened to my daughter in the first class bathroom?” he yelled, calling the flight attendant and placing the photo on his cell phone under the toilet seat.
The cellphone that American Airlines flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III allegedly used to record women in the bathroom was found taped under the toilet seat. (Federal Lawsuit)
In the wake of multiple reports and victim-blaming backlash, American Airlines withdrew its defense and appeared to distance itself from the defense team in what the family’s attorney described as a “creepy” public statement.
“Outside counsel working with our insurers made errors in this filing,” American Airlines said in a statement. “The defenses included are not representative of our airline, and we have directed them to be corrected this morning.”
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“We do not believe the child is at fault and take allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our core mission is caring for people, and the safety and security of our guests and team is fundamental to that.”
“But the bell cannot be rung,” Llewellyn read from the airline’s statement released on Wednesday morning.
As the family’s attorney described it, American Airlines withdrew its defense in a “creepy” public statement and appeared to distance itself from the defense team. (St. Petersburg)
There is a federal criminal case against Thompson that focuses on the 14-year-old boy who discovered the hidden phone.
Llewellyn filed a civil lawsuit in Texas Supreme Court on behalf of the 9-year-old girl’s family, who say they learned from federal agents several months after the crash that Thompson’s phone contained images of their daughter’s face and other lewd images.
In January 2023, the girl was exposed to the atomic bomb while her family was on a plane to Disneyland.
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“What began as a memorable family vacation became an inescapable nightmare,” the civil lawsuit alleges. “This nightmare could have been prevented by the airline.”
Since learning what happened, the young survivor has suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including depression, anxiety, insomnia and nightmares, according to the civil suit.
“This emotional distress fundamentally affected her interpersonal relationships, schooling, and ability to function in society,” the lawsuit says.
“I can’t imagine a world in which it’s appropriate to point at a 9-year-old and say, ‘This isn’t our fault. This is your fault. You should have known you were being filmed.'”
Attorney Paul Llewellyn, who is representing a 9-year-old girl and her family who were assaulted by an American Airlines flight attendant, said he was “outraged” that the airline blamed the child for not knowing there was a hidden camera in the bathroom. (Zoom/Fox News Digital)
And Ms Llewellyn said the airline’s defensive tactics, which she blamed on the girl, had re-traumatized her.
“They (American Airlines) should never have adopted this defensive strategy in the first place,” Llewellyn said. “Some media outlets have called this a depressing statement, and I share that view.”
Another of Thompson’s alleged victims, a 14-year-old girl, suffers from similar PTSD symptoms, according to the federal indictment.
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The criminal complaint concerns allegations regarding a teenage boy who discovered a hidden phone.
She says she has been “nervous, anxious and fearful” when speaking to others since the disturbing allegations came to light during a flight from Charlotte to Boston in September 2023.
“She also has constant anxiety about being out in public alone. For example, she insists on carrying a self-defense ring with a small blade when she goes outside to run for exercise,” the complaint states.
An American Airlines plane lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, in November 2021. (Drew Ungerer/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, accused flight attendant Thompson was indicted last month on federal charges of attempted child sexual exploitation and possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges last week.
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He was first arrested in Virginia in January 2024 and has been in federal custody since then.
In his iCloud account, prosecutors allegedly found hundreds of images of explicit child pornography generated by artificial intelligence, as well as images of the victims that he claimed he had recorded during the flight, according to court documents. ing.
Read the criminal complaint: Graphic content warning — app users click here
Mr Thompson was “immediately suspended” and has not worked for the airline since his cell phone was discovered.
If convicted of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, he could be sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. Possession of images of sexual abuse of prepubescent minors carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Both charges carry a minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release, as well as fines and restitution of up to $250,000.
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Thompson is due to appear in court again on July 1.
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Price and Bonnie Chu contributed to this report.
