An American Airlines flight attendant allegedly recorded five minor girls while they used plane restrooms during incidents that happened between January and September of 2023.
NBC Boston identified the suspect as 37-year-old Estes Carter Thompson III in its report Thursday, noting authorities launched an investigation after a 14-year-old girl said she found an iPhone taped to a toilet seat lid on a flight from Boston to Charlotte.
An image shows the suspect in the case. He no longer works for the airline, according to Queen City News:
Estes Carter Thompson III, was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor. https://t.co/Kzw9YL4d25
— 13 Action News (@13abc) January 19, 2024
The victim reportedly claimed she was waiting to use one of the restrooms on the plane when Thompson told her she could use the first-class one. Prior to her using it, the girl claimed he went inside the restroom to allegedly wash his hands for a few moments, the NBC report continued:
While using the bathroom, the victim saw stickers on the underside of the toilet seat that read “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT,” “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN.” Beneath those stickers, she found the phone. After she spotted the device, she took pictures of it on her own phone to show her parents. The victim told investigators that as soon as she left the lavatory, Thompson entered it.
The minor told her parents about the incident and they reported that information to other crew members. In addition, the father confronted the suspect who reentered the restroom.
Video footage shows an image of what appears to be the red and white stickers holding the phone onto the toilet seat, and the phone’s light appears to have been switched on:
Police met the suspect when the plane landed in Boston and it appeared the suspect’s phone had been reset to factory settings. However, officials reportedly found stickers similar to those allegedly seen in the restroom tucked inside his suitcase.
Thompson’s iCloud account also revealed he allegedly had recordings of victims who were 7, 9, 11, and 14 years old, along with photos of an unaccompanied minor.
“It is further alleged that hundreds of images of AI-generated child pornography were also found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a press release Thursday.
According to the agency, Thompson was arrested in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Thursday and faces a charge of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography.
The family of the 14-year-old has since filed a lawsuit in the case, the NBC Boston report said.
“How the hell was this allowed to happen in the first place? This wasn’t an isolated occurrence. If the allegations are true in the DOJ’s press release, there was a serial pedophile flying around for months on American Airlines filming young girls,” the family’s attorney, Paul Llewellyn, told the outlet.
American Airlines has said it is working with officials investigating the allegations.
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