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A former American Airlines flight attendant who secretly recorded a minor female passenger while using the plane’s bathroom was sentenced to 18.5 years in prison on Thursday.
The sentence also includes a five-year supervised release.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 38, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of attempted child sexual exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a minor before pregnancy.
“Mr. Thompson used his trusting position as a flight attendant to exploit innocent children, set it up to record them, and directed them to the bathrooms of the aircraft where he revisited those videos for his own sexual satisfaction. “I hope this sentence provides at least some space for the victims and their families to heal.”
On September 2, 2023, Thompson was working as a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight when he tried to secure a phone in one of the plane’s toilet seats to secretly record a 14-year-old girl who entered the toilet, according to the release.
Officials say Thompson used a sticker called “Inappropriate Equipment” to attach the phone to the underside of the toilet lid.
Thompson then went to the bathroom as he left to get his phone back. The minor has since notified his parents of the incident, the release explains.
When her father and other crew went to confront Thompson, he said, “I was locked up in the bathroom on my iPhone and restored the device to factory settings.
Ted E. Dock, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division, praised the teen in a news release, saying, “Astes Carter Thompson thought that he had a disappointing plan to sexually exploit the child for his own satisfaction, until he worked with us to stop the plan and put an end to deviant behavior.”
(Photo courtesy of the US District Attorney’s Office)
Investigators later found the same “ragged equipment” sticker on Thompson’s luggage upon landing.
Investigators who investigated Thompson’s iCloud account said evidence was found that he recorded a minor girl who was 6, 9, 11 and 14 years old while using the toilet on his flight in 2023.
Images on Thompson’s iCloud account also include more than 50 photos of a 9-year-old passenger traveling alone, as well as “hundreds” of AI-generated photos depicting child sexual abuse, according to prosecutors.
“The dishonorable behavior of this flight attendant has deprived five young girls of innocence, causing serious pain and trauma that these victims and their families are likely to be feeling for years to come,” Dock said. “We can’t make up for that, but the FBI and our partners are committed to protecting our most vulnerable from predators like him.”
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