A former American Airlines flight attendant accused of taping his iPhone to the toilet to record a teenage girl who was using the airplane bathroom on a Boston-bound flight in September has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said in a statement Friday.
Thompson is also alleged to have recordings of four additional minor female passengers — some as young as 7 years old — using bathrooms aboard aircraft he had worked on previously, prosecutors said.
Thompson has been in federal custody since his arrest in January in Lynchburg, Virginia, Levy said.
According to the charging documents, on Sept. 2, 2023, while working as a flight attendant onboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Mass., Thompson videorecorded or attempted to surreptitiously video-record a 14-year-old female passenger as she used the aircraft lavatory, Levy said.
Midway through the flight, the girl got up to use the main cabin bathroom nearest to her airplane seat.
When she arrived to the bathroom, it was occupied. After the girl had been waiting a short time, Thompson allegedly approached her, told her that the first-class bathroom was unoccupied and escorted her toward first class, Levy said.
Before she entered that bathroom, Thompson allegedly told her that he needed to wash his hands and that the bathroom’s toilet seat was broken, and he briefly entered the bathroom.
After Thompson exited the bathroom, the girl entered the bathroom and saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position, that stated, “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” and “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN” was hand-written in black ink on one of the stickers, Levy said.
Underneath the red stickers, Thompson allegedly had concealed his iPhone to record a video, Levy said. The girl used her own phone to take a picture of the red stickers and the concealed iPhone she found in the bathroom before exiting, at which time “Thompson allegedly re-entered it immediately,” Levy said.
According to court documents, when the girl returned to her seat, she informed her parents of what she saw and showed them the picture. The victim’s parents reported the matter to other flight attendants onboard who notified the flight captain, who in turn notified law enforcement on the ground.
The victim’s father confronted Thompson who, shortly thereafter, locked himself in the lavatory with his iPhone for three to five minutes prior to the flight’s descent, Levy said.
Parents of girl on Boston flight say attendant put camera in bathroom to record their daughter
When the flight arrived at Logan International Airport, law enforcement saw that Thompson’s iPhone may have been restored to factory settings, Levy said.
A subsequent search of Thompson’s suitcase was found to contain 11 “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” stickers, like those observed by the girl on the back of the toilet seat, Levy said. A search of Thompson’s iCloud account allegedly revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 in which Thompson recorded a minor using the bathroom on an aircraft.
The other minor victims allegedly depicted in the recordings were ages 7, 9, 11 and 14 at the time, Levy said. Additionally, over 50 images of a 9-year-old unaccompanied minor were allegedly found in Thompson’s iCloud. The images included photos taken while the minor victim was seated in her seat pre-flight, and close-ups of her face while sleeping.
Prosecutors said that hundreds of images of AI-generated child pornography were also found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account.
The charge of attempted sexual exploitation of children provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.
The charge of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Both charges also provide for at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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