A lawyer representing American Airlines claimed that the 9-year-old girl who’s suing the carrier should have been aware that she was being recorded by Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, the creepy flight attendant who recorded minor girls when they used lavatories.
“Any injuries or illnesses alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device,” the lawyer representing American Airlines said, sparking widespread outrage.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, was arrested for allegedly secretly filming multiple girls between the ages of 7 and 14 over several months last year, when they were using the lavatories of the flights where he was one of the attendants.
He, however, on Monday pleaded not guilty to two counts in federal court in Boston.
Estes Carter Thompson III was indicted last month on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
Police also allege Thompson, 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of four other girls — ages 7, 9, 11 and 14 — using aircraft lavatories.
The girl’s family was “absolutely livid” with the airlines’ stance, their lawyer Paul Llewellyn said while speaking to the New York Post.
“I was absolutely shocked and I think it’s outrageous. The idea that American Airlines and its lawyers would blame a 9-year-old girl for being filmed, in my opinion, just smacks of desperation and depravity. What on Earth is American Airlines thinking by adopting such a strategy?” Llewellyn was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
Estes, the accused, was working aboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts in September 2023 when he attempted to film the teenager while she was in the lavatory.
Thompson told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said. She told investigators that before she entered the bathroom, Thompson told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken.
Upon the Estes’ exit from the restroom, the victim entered and saw red stickers beneath the toilet seat lid with handwritten messages saying “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT,” “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN.”
It was when she turned to flush she found an iPhone peeking from behind the stickers.
Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been in federal custody since.
According to investigators, about midway through a Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied.
Prosecutors also allege hundreds of images of child sexual abuse generated through artificial intelligence were found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account, as well as the images of the other four girls captured on earlier flights.
American Airlines said following his arrest that Thompson was “immediately withheld from service” and hadn’t worked for the airline since the phone was discovered.
Attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of 15-30 years in prison, while possessing images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor can mean up to 20 years in prison.
Both charges also provide for at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.
Thompson is due back in court on July 1.
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