An American Airlines flight attendant is facing federal child pornography charges after being accused of trying to secretly record a 14-year-old girl in an airplane restroom and being in possession of other videos of minors using the restroom in planes he worked on.
Estes Carter Thompson III was arrested in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Thursday, and was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
“What Mr. Thompson is accused of doing is disgraceful, and we believe, calculated, given that this alleged conduct occurred on at least five flights,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of FBI Boston.
The 36-year-old is accused of trying to film a 14-year-old girl while he was working on a flight this past September from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston. Mr. Thompson went up to the girl as she was waiting to use the restroom and told her the first-class lavatory was available to use. After leading her there, he entered the restroom to wash his hands and let the girl know the seat was broken, the Justice Department said in its statement.
After he left the restroom, the girl entered and found red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid that read, “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT,” “REMOVE FROM SERVICE” and “SEAT BROKEN.”
He hid his iPhone under the stickers to record the girl using the restroom, according to the charging documents.
The 14-year-old took pictures of the stickers and the phone and left to show her parents, who then informed flight attendants, who brought the matter to the plane’s pilot. The pilot informed police when they reached Boston.
Before reaching the ground, the girl’s father confronted Mr. Thompson, who locked himself in the restroom for several minutes, the Justice Department said. Police believe he may have returned his phone to factory settings.
A search of his suitcase led police to find 11 “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” stickers like those from the bathroom. Police also found four recordings on his iCloud account of minors between the ages of 7 and 14 using the restroom on the plane that were taken between January and August 2023. Photos of another 9-year-old were also found, along with images of child pornography generated by artificial intelligence.
After the incident, he was “immediately withheld from service” and hasn’t returned to work, an American Airlines statement said.
“We take these allegations very seriously,” the company said in its statement. “They do not 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 North Carolina resident will remain in custody until his court date in the Western District of Virginia and will later head to federal court in Boston.
He faces up to 30 years in prison for attempted sexual exploitation of children and up to 20 years for possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor if he is convicted. Both charges also provide for at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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