Former American Airlines flight attendant arrested for allegedly capturing bathroom footage of minor female

An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested for attempting to record a minor female passenger using a lavatory aboard an aircraft he was working in September 2023.

A now-former American Airlines flight attendant was arrested Thursday for attempting to record a minor female passenger using a bathroom aboard an aircraft he was working in September 2023, federal prosecutors in Boston said.

The defendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is also alleged to have possessed recordings of four additional minor female passengers who also used bathrooms aboard the same aircraft.

Thompson was charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. Thompson was arrested in Lynchburg, Virginia, and will remain in custody pending an initial appearance in Virginia before he is transferred to Boston. ABC News was not immediately able to locate a legal representative for Thompson.”

"The deeply disturbing conduct alleged here is something no parent or child should ever have to worry about when they travel, U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said. "Mr. Thompson allegedly used his position to prey on and surreptitiously record innocent children, including unaccompanied minors, while in a vulnerable state aboard flights he was working."

Thomas was working an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Boston on September 2, 2023 when prosecutors said a 14-year-old girl got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to where she was seated. Thompson allegedly approached her, told 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, and briefly entered the lavatory.