Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States is a former American Airlines flight attendant. He is currently in jail.
On September 2, 2023, Thompson was working as a flight attendant onboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Boston, Massachusetts, USA. During the flight, he allegedly tried to film a female passenger, then 14, who was using the aircraft lavatory.
Around midway through the flight, the girl went to the main cabin lavatory nearest to where she was seated but it was occupied. She was approached by Thompson, who allegedly said the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her toward first class.
Thompson allegedly entered the lavatory first because he needed to wash his hands. When the girl entered the lavatory, she found an iPhone concealed behind red stickers and used her phone to take photo of the iPhone and the stickers.
The girl went back to her seat and informed her parents about the hidden iPhone in the bathroom. Her parents reported it to other flight attendants onboard, who notified the captain, who in turn reported the matter to law enforcement on the ground.
After being confronted by the girl’s father, Thompson locked himself in the lavatory with his iPhone for 3-5 minutes before the flight’s descent. He had to surrender the iPhone to law enforcement officers as soon as the flight arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston.
The officers noticed that Thompson’s iPhone have been restored to factory settings. They also found in his suitcase 11 stickers with the words “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT”.
Thompson’s iCloud account videos of four passengers, then 7, 9, 11 and 14, using the lavatory on an aircraft between January 2023 and August 2023 and more than 50 photos of a girl, then 9, in her seat pre-flight and close-ups of her face while sleeping. The account also contained child pornography generated by artificial intelligence.
On January 18, 2024, Thompson was arrested in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. He was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
CONAN Daily 