American Airlines flight attendant arrested, accused of filming girl in bathroom of Boston-bound plane
BOSTON - An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested after the U.S. Attorney said he tried to record a teenage girl using an airplane bathroom.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, was arrested by the FBI Thursday in Virginia and charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
Charging documents said Thompson tried to film a 14-year-old girl as she used the bathroom on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston.
The teenager allegedly found a cell phone concealed with stickers attached to the toilet seat lid after Thompson told her the toilet seat was broken.
The girl's father allegedly confronted Thompson, who locked himself in the bathroom with his phone for three to five minutes.
When the flight arrived at Logan Airport, police said Thompson's cellphone had been restored to factory settings.
When Thompson's iCloud account was searched, police allegedly found four additional videos when Thompson recorded a child using the airplane bathroom and more than 50 images of a 9-year-old unaccompanied minor, including photos taken of her while she was sleeping.
Hundreds of images of AI-generated images of child sex abuse were also allegedly found on Thompson's iCloud account.
"The deeply disturbing conduct alleged here is something no parent or child should ever have to worry about when they travel. Mr. Thompson allegedly used his position to prey on and surreptitiously record innocent children, including unaccompanied minors, while in a vulnerable state aboard flights he was working," said acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy in a statement.
The 14-year-old who allegedly found Thompson's cell phone attached to the toilet seat has since sued American Airlines, claiming Thompson was able to destroy evidence because other crew members didn't confiscate his phone.
"We are pleased to hear that the American Airlines flight attendant has finally been arrested. It is also shocking to hear that he allegedly preyed on at least five minors while they were flying on American. While the criminal justice system must now run its course against the flight attendant, it remains to be seen whether American Airlines will now finally take some measure of responsibility to the families for what happened. This should never have been allowed to happen and must never happen again," said the 14-year-old's lawyer, Paul Llewellyn.
American Airlines said Thompson hasn't worked for them since the incident onboard the flight to Boston.
"We take these allegations very seriously. They don't reflect our airline or our core mission of caring for people. We have been fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation as there is nothing more important than the safety and security of our customers and team," the airline said in a statement.
