An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested on allegations that he tried to record a teenage passenger while she used the bathroom, the U.S. Attorney said.
On Thursday, the FBI arrested Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, in Virginia and charged him with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, CBS News reported.
The flight attendant is accused of trying to film a 14-year-old girl as she used the bathroom on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts.
The teenager allegedly found a cell phone that was concealed with stickers attached to the toilet seat lid after Thompson told her the toilet seat was broken.
Authorities say the girl’s father confronted Thompson, who had locked himself in the bathroom with his phone for three to five minutes.
When the plane lander, police said Thompson’s cellphone had been restored to factory setting.
However, Thompson’s iCloud account was still searchable and 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, which also included photos taken of her while she was sleeping.
Authorities also discovered hundreds of images of AI-generated images of child sex abuse 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 and her family have 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 lawyer, Paul Llewellyn, who is representing the teen.
American Airlines said Thompson hasn’t worked for them since the incident.
“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.
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