Former Flight Attendant Filmed Minors in Lavatory, Indicted on Child Exploitation Charges

A former American Airlines flight attendant has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly attempting to film a 14-year-old female passenger using a lavatory aboard a flight he was working in September 2023.

Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, of Charlotte, N.C., was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. Thompson was previously charged by criminal complaint and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Va. He has been in federal custody since.

According to the charging documents, on Sept. 2, 2023, while working as a flight attendant onboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, N.C. to Boston, Mass., Thompson video-recorded or attempted to surreptitiously video-record a 14-year-old female passenger as she used the aircraft lavatory. The minor victim had been waiting a short time when Thompson approached her, telling her that the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her toward first class. Before the minor victim entered the lavatory, Thompson allegedly told her that he needed to wash his hands and that the lavatory’s toilet seat was broken.

When the minor victim entered the lavatory, she observed red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which stated, “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” and “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN” was hand-written in black ink on one of the stickers. Beneath the red stickers, Thompson had concealed his iPhone to record a video. The minor victim used her phone to take a picture of the red stickers and the concealed iPhone before exiting, at which time Thompson allegedly re-entered the lavatory immediately.

A subsequent search of Thompson’s suitcase was found to contain 11 “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” stickers, like those observed by the minor victim on the back of the toilet seat. A search of Thompson’s iCloud account allegedly revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 in which Thompson recorded a minor using the lavatory on an aircraft. The minor victims allegedly depicted in the surreptitious recordings were seven, nine, 11, and 14 years old at the time.

The minor victims involved in this matter have been identified and their families contacted by law enforcement. The defendant’s iCloud account also contained over 50 images of a nine-year-old unaccompanied minor, including photos taken while the minor victim was seated in her seat pre-flight and close-ups of her face while sleeping.