New Delhi, India: A 36-year-old American Airlines flight attendant is facing serious legal action after being accused of covertly recording minors in airplane lavatories. Estes Carter Thompson III was arrested on January 18 and now faces charges, including one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
The allegations against Thompson date back to September, when a 14-year-old girl discovered an iPhone taped to the airplane toilet during a flight from North Carolina’s Charlotte to Boston. The subsequent investigation has revealed more disturbing details, with four other victims, including a 9-year-old girl from Texas, being 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. Furthermore, the FBI reportedly recovered explicit images from Thompson’s iCloud account, showing the face, buttocks, and genitals of the 9-year-old victim, which has left the young victim grappling with fear and anxiety.
During the flight where the 14-year-old victim discovered the hidden camera, Thompson allegedly redirected her to the first-class bathroom, claiming a malfunctioning toilet seat in the nearby lavatory. The discovery of an iPhone crudely taped to the seat with its flashlight turned on became pivotal in exposing the hidden camera.
Subsequently, authorities found 11 additional stickers in the airplane lavatory, and 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. Authorities also discovered hundreds of AI-generated child pornography images stored on Thompson’s iCloud account. This incident has led to significant legal implications for American Airlines, as the family of one of the victims is taking legal action against the airline company.