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Last year, I wrote about an American Airlines flight attendant being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over a “potential criminal act” on American Airlines flight AA1441 from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). A hidden camera was found in the First Class lavatory after a young girl used the restroom. Since then, the flight attendant was arrested and additional insidious acts have been discovered. A second family filed a lawsuit against him after being informed that their daughter was also a victim. He was formally charged in January 2024. Now, the flight attendant has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Estes Carter Thompson III of Charlotte, NC was charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. After the initial incident, four more videos were found on Thompson’s Apple iCloud account all depicting children in the same lavatory, but on different flights.
At the time, reports said that the camera was discovered after a teenage girl went to the lavatory on flight 1441. Thompson apparently stopped her before she went into the restroom by saying that he had to wash his hands. He went in, came out, and allowed her to enter. After she left, he went back into the lavatory.
Boston 25 reported that a passenger on the flight said the girl’s mother ran up the aisle and prevented another female passenger from using the lavatory by saying that she believed there was a hidden camera in there. Authorities boarded the Airbus A321 after it landed in Boston. Because the incident happened midflight the investigation was handed over to the FBI.
While searching Thompson’s baggage, investigators found 11 additional inoperative catering equipment stickers that match the one used to secure the iPhone to the toilet’s lid. After the incident in September, Thompson was with held from service and hadn’t worked for American Airlines since then. Now, he awaits the punishment for his guilty plea. While he might have reached a plea deal with prosecutors, minimum sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Anthony’s Take: People (especially children and their parents) should not have to worry about being video recorded while they are using the lavatory. It’s good that he did not waste anymore time fighting this and will be behind bars soon.
(Image Credits: Lewis & Llewellyn LLP and Lynchburg Adult Detention Center.)
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