Case Against Flight Attendant Accused Of Filming Minors In Plane Toilet

A 36-year-old American Airlines flight attendant, arrested for allegedly recording minors in airplane lavatories, and the airline company that employed him, are facing legal action from the family of one of the victims.

The flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, was arrested on January 18 after accusations that he covertly recorded several young girls during flights, leading to a significant legal fallout for American Airlines. The initial charges stemmed from an incident in September, where a 14-year-old girl discovered an iPhone taped to the toilet during a flight from North Carolina's Charlotte to Boston. Subsequently, the girl's family filed a lawsuit against the airline.

A federal investigation has since revealed even more disturbing details. According to the report, four prior victims, including a 9-year-old girl from Texas, have been identified in connection with Thompson's alleged actions. The parents of the 9-year-old have filed a lawsuit claiming that Thompson recorded their child during a January 2023 flight to Los Angeles, where the family was heading to Disney World and a gymnastics meet.

The FBI reportedly recovered explicit images from Thompson's iCloud account, allegedly showing the face, buttocks, and genitals of the 9-year-old victim. The aftermath of the incident has left the young victim grappling with fear and anxiety, the report added. 

Thompson faces serious charges, including one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, particularly in connection with the case involving the 14-year-old victim.

Thompson, during a flight, allegedly redirected the 14-year-old victim to the first-class bathroom, claiming a malfunctioning toilet seat in the nearby lavatory. This redirection led to the discovery of red stickers on the toilet seat lid with the words "INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT" and "REMOVE FROM SERVICE" printed on them. The girl clicked a photo of an iPhone crudely taped to the seat with its flashlight turned on, which became pivotal in exposing the hidden camera.

The subsequent confrontation between the girl's father and Thompson unfolded as the flight approached Boston, where authorities found 11 additional stickers in the lavatory. Thompson then locked himself in the bathroom with his phone, raising suspicions of potential evidence tampering. 

Authorities delving into Thompson's iCloud account uncovered four additional instances between January and August 2023, where he allegedly recorded minor girls aged 7, 9, 11, and 14. Officials also discovered hundreds of AI-generated child pornography images stored on Thompson's iCloud account.