A former American Airlines flight attendant has been accused of secretly recording multiple underage girls in the bathroom of the plane he worked on. According to authorities, the victim of the alleged secret recording was as young as 7 years old.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, was arrested Thursday in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Thompson was charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. Mr. Thompson will later be transported to Boston to appear in federal court.
Thompson is accused of filming at least five underage girls in the restroom on an American Airlines flight.
The former American Airlines flight attendant was arrested in September after a 14-year-old girl allegedly found a cell phone hidden in the bathroom of a plane.
As previously reported by Blaze News, on September 2, 2023, the family was traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts.
A 14-year-old girl on the bus tried to use the restroom, but it was occupied. Thompson approached the minor and told him he could use the first class restroom, police said. The flight attendant escorted the girl to the first class bathroom, but she said she told her she needed to wash her hands before using the facilities.
United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts Said Thursday: “After Thompson exited the restroom, the minor victim entered the restroom and found the words 'malfunctioning serving utensil' and 'remove' written on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position.” One of the stickers had the words “FROM SERVICE'' and “SEAT BROKEN'' handwritten in black ink, and Thompson had “observed red stickers'' attached to the vehicle under the red sticker. He is said to have hidden his iPhone in order to record the video.
The girl reportedly entered the bathroom, noticed a hidden iPhone, and used her phone to take photos of the suspicious situation.
Authorities said Thompson re-entered the bathroom shortly after the girl left.
She returned to her seat and told her parents about the phone hidden in the bathroom, according to the indictment.
The alleged victim's parents reported the incident to other crew members, who alerted the pilot. The pilot reported the accusations to law enforcement.
The boy's father confronted Thomspon, and Thomspon retreated to the bathroom with his iPhone for three to five minutes until the plane began to descend, according to court documents.
After the American Airlines plane landed at Boston's Logan Airport, law enforcement said Thompson's iPhone may have been reset to factory settings. Authorities later searched Thompson's suitcase and reportedly found 11 stickers reading “dysfunctional dining facilities” that had allegedly been placed in the plane's bathroom.
A subsequent search of Thompson's iCloud account revealed videos of an underage girl using the in-flight bathroom on American Airlines flights from January to August 2023, court documents say. Prosecutors said the other alleged victims were ages 7, 9, 11 and 14. The alleged victims have been identified and police have contacted their families.
USA Today “The search uncovered hundreds of artificial intelligence-generated images depicting child sexual abuse, as well as the discovery of a 9-year-old girl who was an unaccompanied minor on board an American Airlines flight,” the report said. More than 50 images of her were also discovered, including close-up shots of her sleeping, according to the complaint.
Following Thompson's arrest, American Airlines said in a statement that it “takes these allegations very seriously” and that they “do not reflect on our airline or our core mission of caring for people.” did.
“There is nothing more important than the safety and security of our customers and teams, so we are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation,” the airline said in a statement.
American Airlines said it fired Thompson in September.
“Today, the FBI arrested Estes Carter Thompson III for repeatedly attempting to sexually exploit defenseless children for his own gratification. Mr. Thompson's alleged actions are shameful. “We believe this is the case, given that this activity took place on at least five flights,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office.
“This case should make it clear that the FBI takes crime and the sexual exploitation of children on airplanes seriously,” Cohen added. “If you have ever been the victim of a crime on an aircraft or witnessed a crime, we urge you to report it to both the flight crew and the FBI.”
“The extremely troubling conduct alleged here is something that no parent or child should ever have to worry about when traveling,” said U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy. He allegedly preyed on innocent children, including unaccompanied minors, and secretly recorded them while he was in a vulnerable state on a plane while he was working.”
The 14-year-old's family sued American Airlines in December for not immediately confiscating Thompson's cell phone, which they claim allowed Thompson to “destroy evidence.”
The family's lawyer, Paul Llewellyn, said: new york post “Also shocking are reports that at least five minors were preyed upon while on board American Airlines. The criminal justice system must now take appropriate action against flight attendants, but American It remains to be seen whether aviation will ultimately take that stance.” “Please take some responsibility for the family for what happened. This should never have been allowed to happen and it must never happen again. not.”
Thompson faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and up to 20 years if convicted of possession of child pornography.
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