Former flight attendant sentenced to 18.5 years after secretly recording girls in airplane bathrooms
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, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested and charged after authorities said a 14-year-old girl on his flight discovered his secret recording setup in the lavatory.
According to investigators, the girl got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat during a Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston but found it was occupied.
Thompson told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said. She told investigators that before she entered the bathroom, Thompson told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken.
After he left, the teen entered the bathroom and saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position, officials said, with the words written in black ink and all caps, "inoperative catering equipment," "remove from service," and "seat broken." Beneath the stickers, Thompson had concealed 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.
American Airlines said following his arrest that Thompson was "immediately withheld from service" and hadn't worked for the airline since the phone was discovered.
Thompson pleaded guilty in March to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
He apologized in court Wednesday, describing his actions as "selfish, perverse and wrong."
Police alleged Thompson 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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