An American Airlines flight attendant has been indicted in the US for trying to secretly record a video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September. As per the police, the 36-year-old man, Estes Carter Thompson III, was in possession of four other girls who used the lavatories on an aircraft where he worked. As per the investigators, girls depicted in recording were aged seven, nine, 11 and 14 at the time of recording.
Thompson is charged with an attempted child sex exploitation along with a count of possessing pictures of child sexual abuse that showed a prepubescent minor. In January 2024, Thompson was arrested and accused in Lynchburg, Virginia. Since then, he has been in federal custody. Following the indictment by a federal grand jury, Thompson’s lawyer stated he was unable to comment.
Additionally, the prosecution claims that Thompson’s iCloud account contained hundreds of artificial intelligence
The case –
Investigators said that about midway through a September 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied. Thompson then told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said.
Before she entered the bathroom, Thompson allegedly told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken, they said. After he left, the 14-year old entered the bathroom and she saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position, officials said.
Beneath the stickers, Thompson had placed his iPhone to record a video, investigators said. The girl used her phone to take a picture of the stickers and concealed iPhone before leaving.
Attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of 15-30 years in prison, while possessing images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor can mean 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.
(With AP inputs)