BOSTON—An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted last month on two counts relating to the secret recording of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom and the possession of images depicting child sexual abuse.
The accused, Estes Carter Thompson III, pleaded not guilty to these charges in federal court in Boston on Monday.
Authorities allege that Thompson, a 36-year-old man from Charlotte, North Carolina, secretly recorded video footage of the young girl during her use of an aircraft lavatory last September.
In addition to this incident, police also found recordings of four other girls—ages 7, 9, 11, and 14—using aircraft lavatories on earlier flights.
Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been held in federal custody ever since.
The events of the September 2nd, 2023 flight from Charlotte to Boston began when the 14-year-old passenger got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied.
Thompson informed her that the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there.
Before she entered the bathroom, he told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken.
Upon entering the bathroom, the teenager saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position.
Beneath the stickers, Thompson had concealed his iPhone to record a video.
The girl used her phone to take a picture of the stickers and concealed iPhone before leaving.
Prosecutors further claim that hundreds of images of child sexual abuse generated through artificial intelligence were discovered stored on Thompson’s iCloud account, in addition to the images of the other four girls captured on earlier flights.
In response to the arrest, American Airlines announced that Thompson had been “immediately withheld from service” and has not worked for the airline since the phone was discovered.
If convicted of attempted sexual exploitation of children, Thompson could face a prison sentence of 15-30 years.
The charge of possessing images of child sexual abuse carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
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.
Thompson’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 1st.