Thompson faces charges, including one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child.

New Delhi:

A 36-year-old American Airlines flight attendant has been arrested for allegedly filming minors in an airplane restroom, and the airline that employed him is facing legal action from the family of one of the victims.

American Airlines faces significant legal consequences after flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III was arrested on January 18 after being accused of secretly filming several young girls during a flight . The initial charges stemmed from an incident in September in which a 14-year-old girl found an iPhone taped to the toilet seat on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston. The girl’s family subsequently filed a lawsuit against the airline.

A federal investigation has since revealed more disturbing details.according to Report, four previous victims, including a 9-year-old girl from Texas, have been identified in connection with Thompson’s alleged conduct. The 9-year-old’s parents filed a lawsuit claiming Thompson recorded their child on a flight to Los Angeles in January 2023 while the family was traveling to Disney World and competing in a gymnastics competition.

The FBI reportedly found explicit images from Thompson’s iCloud account that allegedly showed the 9-year-old victim’s face, buttocks and genitals. The young victim suffered from fear and anxiety following the incident, the report added.

Thompson faces serious charges, including one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, specifically related to the case involving the 14-year-old victim.

Thompson allegedly took the 14-year-old victim to the first-class bathroom during the flight, claiming the toilet seat in a nearby bathroom was malfunctioning. This redirect resulted in the discovery of a red sticker on the toilet seat with the words “Catering Equipment Inoperable” and “Out of Service” printed on it. The girl clicked a picture of an iPhone crudely taped to the seat with the flashlight turned on, which was essential to exposing the hidden camera.

Later, as the plane approached Boston, a confrontation broke out between the girl’s father and Thompson, and authorities found 11 more stickers in the toilet. Thompson then locked himself in the bathroom with his cellphone, raising suspicions that the evidence may have been tampered with.

Authorities dug into Thompson’s iCloud account and discovered four additional incidents between January and August 2023 in which he allegedly recorded underage girls ages 7, 9, 11 and 14. Officials also discovered hundreds of AI-generated images of child pornography stored on Thompson’s iCloud account.