BOSTON — A former American Airlines has pleaded guilty to secretly recording video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom and having recordings of four other girls using the lavatories.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
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 .
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.
“We are pleased to hear that the American Airlines flight attendant who preyed on at least five young girls as they used the airplane bathroom has pled guilty for his depraved crimes,” Paul Llewellyn, whose law firm Lewis & Llewellyn has represented the 14-year-old girl and another victim in lawsuits stemming from the case, said in a statement. “We commend the US Attorney’s Office for its work on the criminal case in bringing this felon to justice.”
Llewellyn said the firm settled the 14-year-old’s lawsuit with American Airlines and is set to go to trial in July in the other lawsuit, which was brought on behalf of a 9-year-old girl from Texas.
Prosecutors also allege that their investigation turned up hundreds of images in Thompson’s iCloud account of child sexual abuse generated through artificial intelligence, as well as the images of the other four girls captured on earlier flights using the aircraft lavatories. They were ages 7, 9, 11 and 14.
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.
Attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of 15-30 years in prison, while possessing images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. Both charges also provide for at least five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced June 17.
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