A lawyer representing American Airlines claimed that the 9-year-old girl who’s suing the carrier should have been aware that she was being recorded by Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, the creepy flight attendant who recorded minor girls when they used lavatories.
“Any injuries or illnesses alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device,” the lawyer representing American Airlines said, sparking widespread outrage.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, was arrested for allegedly filming multiple girls aged 7 to 14 over several months last year while they used the lavatories on flights where he was an attendant. However, on Monday, Thompson pleaded not guilty to two counts in federal court in Boston. He was indicted last month on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possessing images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
Thompson is due back in court on July 1
Police also allege that Thompson, 36, from Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of four other girls — aged 7, 9, 11, and 14 — using aircraft lavatories.
The girl’s family was “absolutely livid” with the airline’s stance, according to their lawyer, Paul Llewellyn, who spoke to the New York Post. “I was absolutely shocked and I think it’s outrageous. The idea that American Airlines and its lawyers would blame a 9-year-old girl for being filmed, in my opinion, just smacks of desperation and depravity. What on Earth is American Airlines thinking by adopting such a strategy?”
Llewellyn told the New York Post. Estes, the accused, was working on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts in September 2023, when he allegedly attempted to film the teenager in the lavatory. Thompson had told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said. She reported that before she entered the bathroom, Thompson claimed he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken.
Upon Thompson’s exit from the restroom, the victim entered and noticed red stickers beneath the toilet seat lid with handwritten messages saying “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT,” “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN.”
When she turned to flush, she discovered an iPhone peeking from behind the stickers. Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been in federal custody since. Investigators reported that about halfway through the Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old tried to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it occupied. Prosecutors also allege that hundreds of images of child sexual abuse, generated through artificial intelligence, were found on Thompson’s iCloud account, along with images of the other four girls captured on earlier flights.
Following his arrest, American Airlines stated that Thompson was “immediately withheld from service” and had not worked for the airline since the phone was discovered. Attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of 15-30 years in prison, while possession of images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor can result in up to 20 years in prison. Both charges include at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution. Thompson is due back in court on July 1.
