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Last month, I wrote about an American Airlines flight attendant who was 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 allegedly 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 has now filed a lawsuit against him after being informed that their daughter was also a victim.
Estes Carter Thompson III of Charlotte, NC has been arrested Thursday in Lynchburg, VA and charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. 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.
The second victim is a 9-year-old girl who was traveling on American Airlines flight AA2869 from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for a gymnastics competition and a trip to Disneyland. Similar to the other flight, Thompson allegedly went into the lavatory before the girl to “clean up a mess.” The girl used the lavatory and then he was reportedly seen going back in. The FBI informed the parents that photos and videos of the girl’s face, unclothed buttocks, and genitalia were found on Thompson’s iCloud account (according to court documents).
It felt like we were living in a nightmare when the FBI showed up on our doorstep to tell us that our daughter had been secretly filmed by an American Airlines flight attendant during a family trip to Disneyland. Since then, our daughter has struggled with fear and anxiety. We are doing everything we can to support her during this traumatic time. An important part of our family’s healing is making sure that the flight attendant and American Airlines are held accountable for what happened to our daughter. We hope that this lawsuit is the first step in making sure nothing like this ever happens to another family.”
Anthony’s Take: The charges against Thompson continue to mount. Hopefully, justice will be served if he’s found guilty of these crimes.
(Image Credits: Lewis & Llewellyn LLP and Lynchburg Adult Detention Center.)
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