In a shocking incident, the FBI arrested a former American Airlines flight attendant on Thursday for secretly recording a minor girl in the plane’s lavatory. The accused allegedly affixed an iPhone on the toilet seat and concealed it with ‘Seat Broken’ stickers during a flight last year. The young girl discovered the phone while on a flight to Boston on September 23, 2023. The FBI criminally charged the accused with sexual exploitation and child pornography on Thursday.
Man Arrested For Affixing Phone To Record Young Girl In Plane’s Lavatory
In September last year, a 14-year-old discovered an iPhone fixed in an American Airlines flight lavatory while flying to Boston with her family. A flight attendant allegedly fixed this phone on the toilet seat of the lavatory to record minors. This led to the victim’s family filing a lawsuit against the airlines in December last year. The FBI arrested the accused, identified as Estes Carter Thompson III, on Thursday on grounds of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography.
American Airlines said that Thompson was “immediately withheld from service” after they received the complaint about this incident. They further reassured that the airline will provide full support for the investigation.
Disturbing Discovery In The Accused’s Phone; More Videos Of Minors Found
Upon investigation, this young girl wasn’t the first victim of this heinous crime by the former flight attendant. As per the reports submitted by the investigators, they discovered videos of four other minor girls in plane lavatories recorded by the former flight attendant. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement, these girls were aged 7, 9, 11, and 14 years. The timeline of these videos was January 26 and August 23 last year.
If convicted, the accused will carry at least 15 and up to 30 years in prison for attempted sexual exploitation of children. Additionally, possession of child pornography carries at least 5 years and up to 20 years of prison time.
This is a deeply concerning incident and we hope that the accused is justly punished for this heinous crime.
Cover Image Courtesy: Flickr
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