An American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, has been indicted for allegedly attempting to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September. Authorities also claim that Thompson had recordings of four other girls using the toilet on an aircraft where he worked.
Thompson, 36, from Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor. He was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been in federal custody since then.
During a flight from Charlotte to Boston on September 2, 2023, Thompson reportedly directed the 14-year-old girl to use the first-class lavatory, claiming it was unoccupied. Before she entered, Thompson allegedly told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken. After the girl noticed red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid concealing Thompson's iPhone, she took a picture of the stickers and the phone before leaving.
Investigators also found hundreds of images of child sexual abuse generated through artificial intelligence on Thompson’s iCloud account. Additionally, a search of his iCloud account revealed four instances between January and August 2023 where Thompson recorded a minor using the lavatory on an aircraft, with the minors being 7, 9, 11, and 14 years old at the time.
If convicted, Thompson could face 15-30 years in prison for attempted sexual exploitation of children and up to 20 years in prison for possessing images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor. Both charges also carry at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution.
American Airlines stated that Thompson was "immediately withheld from service" and hasn’t worked since the discovery of the phone. Thompson's lawyer declined to comment after the indictment by a federal grand jury.
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