An American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, has been charged after allegedly attempting to secretly record a video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane toilet. Police have also alleged that Thompson had earlier recorded videos of four other girls aged between 7 and 14.
Thompson, 36, from Charlotte, North Carolina, faces charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse.
American Airlines said it had promptly pulled out the flight attendant from service as soon as the issue was brought to its notice.
Thompson was indicted after police discovered recordings of four other girls using lavatories on an aircraft where he worked. Thompson was arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been in federal custody since then.
Investigators say the incident occurred during a September 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston. A 14-year-old passenger attempted to use the bathroom but found it occupied. The flight attendant then directed her to the first-class bathroom, claiming it was unoccupied, and escorted her there.
Before the girl entered the bathroom, the flight attendant told her that he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken.
Inside the bathroom, the girl discovered red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat, which was in the open position, officials said, as reported by the Independent.
Beneath the red stickers, she found a concealed iPhone set up to record a video.
Upon finding the iPhone, the teen girl took a picture of it and concealed it before leaving the bathroom.
Prosecutors also allege that Thompson stored hundreds of images of child sexual abuse on his iCloud account, generated through artificial intelligence.
If convicted, Thompson could face 15 to 30 years in prison for attempted sexual exploitation of children and up to 20 years for possession of images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor.
Additionally, he could be subject to 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 after the incident came to light and hasn’t worked since the phone was discovered.
Further investigations revealed four additional instances where Thompson recorded minors using the lavatory on an aircraft between January and August 2023.
The minors depicted in the recordings were 7, 9, 11, and 14 years old at the time. Authorities have contacted their families, as reported by the Independent.
