Cops additionally discovered greater than 50 photographs of a 9-year-old in Thompson’s cellphone.
An American Airways flight attendant accused of recording a number of younger ladies in airplane loos was arrested on Thursday by federal brokers in Virginia. In keeping with the New York Put up, 36-year-old Estes Carter Thompson III was caught red-handed in September final 12 months by a 14-year-old lady he tried to secretly movie in a aircraft restroom. The lady found the iPhone affixed to a bathroom seat, with a big sticker that mentioned the seat was damaged to partially conceal the gadget.
The 36-year-old was arrested Thursday by the FBI and charged with sexual exploitation of youngsters and possession of kid pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. In keeping with the Post, prosecutors mentioned investigators additionally found movies of 4 different ladies, ages 7, 9, 11 and 14, utilizing the services on planes the place Thompson labored.
The flight attendant was working aboard an American Airways flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts on September 2, 2023, when he tried to movie the 14-year-old lady within the restroom. He approached the lady whereas she waited for an occupied toilet in the primary cabin and escorted her to an unoccupied first-class toilet, in keeping with Fox59. Earlier than the lady went in, Thompson allegedly instructed her that he wanted to clean his fingers and that the bathroom seat was damaged earlier than he briefly entered the toilet.
After the flight attendant got here out of the restroom, the younger lady entered and seen purple stickers beneath the bathroom seat lid with handwritten phrases that said “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” and “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN”.
When the 14-year-old turned to flush the bathroom, she seen an iPhone peeking out from behind the stickers. The lady then took a photograph of the iPhone and the stickers earlier than leaving, and Thompson allegedly entered the toilet instantly after she exited. The sufferer confirmed the photograph to her mother and father, following which her mom rushed to the rest room to search out the stickers and iPhone gone.
The mother and father alerted the captain who contacted authorities on the bottom in Boston. The lady’s father additionally confronted Thompson, who then locked himself within the toilet together with his cellphone for about 5 minutes earlier than the aircraft landed.
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Regulation enforcement on the bottom met with the flight attendant and requested to go looking his iPhone. Police who searched Thompson’s cellphone suspected he restored the cellphone to manufacturing facility setting. Nonetheless, a search of his cellphone’s iCloud revealed that he had recorded younger ladies utilizing the aircraft’s rest room no less than 4 completely different instances.
In keeping with Fox59, cops additionally discovered greater than 50 photographs of a 9-year-old, together with photos of her behind and close-ups taken whereas she was sleeping throughout a flight, in addition to AI-generated little one intercourse abuse materials. A search of his suitcase additionally discovered the stickers the 14-year-old lady had noticed.
Instantly after the September incident, Thompson was pulled from American Airways service and has not labored since, the airline mentioned. “We take these allegations very critically. They don’t mirror our airline or our core mission of caring for individuals. We now have been absolutely cooperating with legislation enforcement in its investigation, as there may be nothing extra essential than the protection and safety of our clients and group,” an American Airways spokesperson mentioned, as per the outlet.
Thompson is now dealing with a most of fifty years in jail, a possible lifetime of supervised launch and a fantastic of as much as $250,000.
