Flight attendant jailed for nearly 20 years after secretly filming girls in airplane bathroom
Estes Carter Thompson III, a former American Airlines flight attendant, has been sentenced to 18.5 years in prison for secretly recording young girls in airplane lavatories. The disturbing case drew national outrage after a 14-year-old girl discovered Thompson’s iPhone taped to a toilet seat on a flight in September 2023.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick condemned his actions as “appalling,” stating in court that the victims’ “innocence has been lost.” Thompson, now also facing five years of supervised release after his prison term, admitted in court that his behavior was “selfish, perverse and wrong,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media
Authorities said recordings of at least five victims — girls aged between 7 and 14 — were found on Thompson’s devices. The recordings spanned a nine-month period before he was arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Thompson “robbed five young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world,” leaving them with emotional scars and deep mistrust.
Thompson will serve his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina, where he reportedly plans to begin sex offender-specific treatment. His legal team has declined to comment publicly on the case.
The incident has raised fresh questions about airline screening and employee oversight, especially for staff in close proximity to vulnerable passengers.
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