Estes Carter Thompson III, a former flight attendant at American Airlines from Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to prison for recording girls in the restroom without their knowledge.
Federal prosecutors stated that Thompson, who used his cellphone to covertly record girls in airplane restrooms, has been sentenced to 18 and a half years in prison.
Between January 2023 and September 2023, Estes Carter Thompson III, a flight attendant from Charlotte, North Carolina, covertly recorded females in airplane lavatories on American Airlines flights. The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Massachusetts revealed this information in a sentencing memorandum, stating that Thompson directed the individuals to particular restrooms where he had arranged a hidden recording setup with his cellphone.
In the sentencing memo, Leah B. Foley, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, stated that he stole the innocence and trust of five young girls, replacing it with fear, distrust, insecurity, and sadness.
Federal prosecutors suggested a 20-year prison term with five years of supervised release. Elianna J. Nuzum, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case, did not respond to comment requests immediately.
The girl then discovered an iPhone hidden under red maintenance stickers labeled seat broken on the toilet seat.
She took photos of the concealed camera, went back to her seat, and shared the images with her parents.
The father of the girls faced Thompson, who then concealed himself in the bathroom for the rest of the flight and erased all data from his phone.
Authorities found additional red labels in his luggage, and an examination of his iCloud data uncovered more video recordings of four other minors aged 7, 9, 11, and 14, plus photos of an unattended 9-year-old sleeping, and a collection of sexually explicit AI-generated images of children.