Flight attendant who police say secretly recorded girls in airplane bathroom sentenced to 18.5 years
Former American Airlines flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III received a sentence of 18.5 years, followed by five years of supervised release. Boston U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick called his behavior 'appalling' and said child victims' 'innocence has been lost' because of his actions.
Thompson was arrested and charged in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, after authorities said a 14-year-old girl on his flight discovered his secret recording setup in the lavatory. He was indicted last year on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor.
He apologized in court Wednesday, describing his actions as 'selfish, perverse and wrong.'
Police alleged Thompson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of four other girls between the ages of 7 and 14 using aircraft lavatories over a 9-month period.
In a sentencing memorandum submitted in court, U.S. government attorneys said Thompson 'robbed five young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world and the people they would encounter in it, instead leaving them with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness.'
Thompson, who will serve his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina, intends to undergo sex offender-specific treatment, his attorneys said. A lawyer for Thompson said via email Wednesday he wouldn't be commenting.
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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ex-flight attendant sentenced to nearly 2 decades for recording girls in plane bathrooms
A former American Airlines flight attendant who secretly recorded young girls while they used the lavatory on flights was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison on July 23, federal prosecutors said. Estes Carter Thompson III, 38, received a sentence of 18 and a half years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release on July 24. The flight attendant was arrested and charged in January 2024 after authorities said a 14-year-old girl found his concealed recording setup on a toilet seat in the lavatory in September 2023. Further investigation revealed that Thompson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recorded several other young girls using the bathroom on flights he had worked between January and August 2023, prosecutors said. Investigators discovered the recordings on Thompson's iCloud account, in which he also stored hundreds of AI-generated images depicting child sexual abuse, according to prosecutors. In a statement following Thompson's arrest, American Airlines said his employment was terminated after the September 2023 flight. At the time, the airline said it was fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation and that Thompson did not "reflect our airline or our core mission of caring for people." Earlier this year, Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Mr. Thompson took advantage of his position of trust as a flight attendant to exploit innocent children – directing them to an aircraft bathroom he had set up to record them and then revisiting those videos for his own sexual gratification," U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement. "In so doing, he shattered five children's sense of safety and trust in the world around them, leaving them instead with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness." A drowning, a lawsuit: Timeline since Emilie Kiser's son died Flight attendant had a secret recording setup on the toilet seat Thompson was working as a flight attendant on Sept. 2, 2023, on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Boston when he attempted to secretly record a video of a 14-year-old girl as she used the lavatory, according to charging documents. Midway through the flight, the girl got up to use the main cabin bathroom nearest to where she was seated with her parents. The girl was waiting for the bathroom in the main cabin when Thompson approached and escorted her to the first-class lavatory that he said was unoccupied, the documents state. But before the girl entered the bathroom, Thompson told her that he needed to wash his hands and that the bathroom's toilet seat was broken, according to the documents. After Thompson exited the bathroom, the girl noticed red stickers on the underside of the open toilet seat lid, the documents said. The stickers read "INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT" and "REMOVE FROM SERVICE," with "SEAT BROKEN" handwritten on one of the stickers, according to the documents. The girl then found an iPhone recording a video with its flashlight on underneath the red stickers. The girl used her phone to take a picture of the recording setup before returning to her seat, at which time Thompson immediately re-entered the bathroom and removed his iPhone, the documents said. The girl showed her parents the photo of what she saw in the bathroom, prompting them to report it to other flight attendants onboard, who notified the captain. "When confronted by the minor's father and other flight staff, Thompson locked himself in the lavatory with his iPhone and restored the device to factory settings – wiping all content from the phone," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After the flight landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, the documents said law enforcement, who had been notified on the ground, examined Thompson's iPhone. Law enforcement also searched Thompson's suitcase and discovered 11 "INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT" stickers. Search of iCloud account revealed more victims A search of Thompson's iCloud account further revealed that he recorded four other young girls between the ages of 7 and 14 using bathrooms on American Airlines flights between January and August 2023. "Each of the videos appeared to be taken in a similar fashion, in which Thompson attached his iPhone to a spot above a toilet seat," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "For two of the videos, Thompson was found to have taken and stored 272 screenshots and 98 screenshots, respectively." Investigators also found over 50 images of another child, a 9-year-old, who traveled as an unaccompanied minor on a flight he worked. They included close-ups of the child's face as she slept and of her clothed buttocks. All the victims involved in the investigation have been identified, and their families were contacted by law enforcement, prosecutors said. Surrogacy scam investigation: 21 kids removed from California home amid probe into possible surrogacy scam, police say Reports: American Airlines settles lawsuit with victim's family Following the September 2023 flight, the family of the 14-year-old girl filed a lawsuit against American Airlines over the incident. The suit claimed that the airline "knew or should have known the flight attendant was a danger" and alleged that other crew members on the flight failed to confiscate Thompson's cellphone, allowing him to delete potential evidence, television station WCNC reported. American Airlines later settled with the family in February, according to the television station. In May 2024, the airline came under scrutiny after its lawyers argued that a 9-year-old had acted negligently when she was secretly recorded in an airplane lavatory, USA TODAY previously reported. American Airlines later backtracked on the filing, saying there was an error. 'Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended," an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY at the time. "We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously." Contributing: Eric Lagatta and Ahjané Forbes This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American Airlines attendant sentenced for recording girls in bathrooms
USA Today
9 hours ago
- USA Today
Ex-flight attendant sentenced to nearly 2 decades for recording girls in plane bathrooms
A former American Airlines flight attendant who secretly recorded young girls while they used the lavatory on flights was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison on July 23, federal prosecutors said. Estes Carter Thompson III, 38, received a sentence of 18 and a half years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release on July 24. The flight attendant was arrested and charged in January 2024 after authorities said a 14-year-old girl found his concealed recording setup on a toilet seat in the lavatory in September 2023. Further investigation revealed that Thompson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recorded several other young girls using the bathroom on flights he had worked between January and August 2023, prosecutors said. Investigators discovered the recordings on Thompson's iCloud account, in which he also stored hundreds of AI-generated images depicting child sexual abuse, according to prosecutors. In a statement following Thompson's arrest, American Airlines said his employment was terminated after the September 2023 flight. At the time, the airline said it was fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation and that Thompson did not "reflect our airline or our core mission of caring for people." Earlier this year, Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Mr. Thompson took advantage of his position of trust as a flight attendant to exploit innocent children – directing them to an aircraft bathroom he had set up to record them and then revisiting those videos for his own sexual gratification," U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement. "In so doing, he shattered five children's sense of safety and trust in the world around them, leaving them instead with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness." A drowning, a lawsuit: Timeline since Emilie Kiser's son died Flight attendant had a secret recording setup on the toilet seat Thompson was working as a flight attendant on Sept. 2, 2023, on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Boston when he attempted to secretly record a video of a 14-year-old girl as she used the lavatory, according to charging documents. Midway through the flight, the girl got up to use the main cabin bathroom nearest to where she was seated with her parents. The girl was waiting for the bathroom in the main cabin when Thompson approached and escorted her to the first-class lavatory that he said was unoccupied, the documents state. But before the girl entered the bathroom, Thompson told her that he needed to wash his hands and that the bathroom's toilet seat was broken, according to the documents. After Thompson exited the bathroom, the girl noticed red stickers on the underside of the open toilet seat lid, the documents said. The stickers read "INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT" and "REMOVE FROM SERVICE," with "SEAT BROKEN" handwritten on one of the stickers, according to the documents. The girl then found an iPhone recording a video with its flashlight on underneath the red stickers. The girl used her phone to take a picture of the recording setup before returning to her seat, at which time Thompson immediately re-entered the bathroom and removed his iPhone, the documents said. The girl showed her parents the photo of what she saw in the bathroom, prompting them to report it to other flight attendants onboard, who notified the captain. "When confronted by the minor's father and other flight staff, Thompson locked himself in the lavatory with his iPhone and restored the device to factory settings – wiping all content from the phone," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After the flight landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, the documents said law enforcement, who had been notified on the ground, examined Thompson's iPhone. Law enforcement also searched Thompson's suitcase and discovered 11 "INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT" stickers. Search of iCloud account revealed more victims A search of Thompson's iCloud account further revealed that he recorded four other young girls between the ages of 7 and 14 using bathrooms on American Airlines flights between January and August 2023. "Each of the videos appeared to be taken in a similar fashion, in which Thompson attached his iPhone to a spot above a toilet seat," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "For two of the videos, Thompson was found to have taken and stored 272 screenshots and 98 screenshots, respectively." Investigators also found over 50 images of another child, a 9-year-old, who traveled as an unaccompanied minor on a flight he worked. They included close-ups of the child's face as she slept and of her clothed buttocks. All the victims involved in the investigation have been identified, and their families were contacted by law enforcement, prosecutors said. Surrogacy scam investigation: 21 kids removed from California home amid probe into possible surrogacy scam, police say Reports: American Airlines settles lawsuit with victim's family Following the September 2023 flight, the family of the 14-year-old girl filed a lawsuit against American Airlines over the incident. The suit claimed that the airline "knew or should have known the flight attendant was a danger" and alleged that other crew members on the flight failed to confiscate Thompson's cellphone, allowing him to delete potential evidence, television station WCNC reported. American Airlines later settled with the family in February, according to the television station. In May 2024, the airline came under scrutiny after its lawyers argued that a 9-year-old had acted negligently when she was secretly recorded in an airplane lavatory, USA TODAY previously reported. American Airlines later backtracked on the filing, saying there was an error. 'Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended," an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY at the time. "We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously." Contributing: Eric Lagatta and Ahjané Forbes
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Ex-American Airlines flight attendant sentenced to 18 years in prison for filming young girls using bathroom on Boston flight
The five girls Thompson secretly recorded were 6, 9, 11, and two were 14, court documents show. Advertisement In this photo provided by the law firm Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, an iPhone is taped to the back of a toilet seat on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Boston, on Sept. 2, 2023. Uncredited/Associated Press 'He robbed five young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world and the people they would encounter in it, instead leaving them with fear, mistrust, insecurity and sadness,' Leah B. Foley, the US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, wrote in the memo. In March, under the terms of a plea agreement, Thompson pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. Prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence while Thompson's lawyer, Scott Lauer, requested 15 years, court records show. Although Thompson's conduct was 'serious and disturbing,' it was 'purely voyeuristic,' Lauer wrote in a sentencing memo, noting that Thompson had never before been in trouble with the law. Advertisement 'Mr. Thompson's conduct took place at a time in his life when he was isolated, struggling with depression and excessive alcohol use,' Lauer wrote. Thompson has 'come to view this arrest as a much-needed intervention and opportunity to address the corrosive behaviors which resulted in his offenses,' Lauer's memo said. 'Now sober and with a better appreciation of the need for sex offender specific treatment, Mr. Thompson intends to avail himself of necessary rehabilitative services to the fullest extent possible.' According to prosecutors, Thompson had worked for American Airlines for more than a decade when he attempted to record the 14-year-old girl on Sept. 2, 2023. The girl was waiting for a bathroom in the main cabin when Thompson told her she could use the first-class bathroom and escorted her to the front of the plane. He told her the toilet seat was broken. The girl noticed red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid that read 'INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT' with 'SEAT BROKEN' handwritten on one of the stickers. It wasn't until after she flushed that she noticed an iPhone with its flashlight on under the stickers, court documents said. The girl took photos of the phone and told her parents, who told the crew. Her father confronted Thompson, who locked himself in the bathroom with his phone and restored the device to factory settings, wiping it clean, documents said. When investigators searched Thompson's iCloud account, they found evidence of the four other incidents. They also found 50 images of a child who flew as an unaccompanied minor on a flight in July 2023. 'The joy and innocence that once lit her face have been replaced by distance and caution,' one of the girl's parents said in an impact statement. Advertisement 'She didn't just lose her innocence that day — she lost her sense of the world," the parent said. According to court documents, the parent of another one of the girls said, 'no child, especially during their formative years, should be burdened with such a horrific truth. The innocence she once had has been stolen.' At Thompson's sentencing hearing Wednesday, US District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick said his behavior was 'appalling.' She sentenced Thompson to 222 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Kobick also ordered Thompson to undergo substance abuse and sex offender treatment programs. Thompson apologized in court, according to the Associated Press. He said his actions were 'selfish, perverse, and wrong.' Tonya Alanez can be reached at
