Flight attendant filmed: 18.5 years in prison for secret recordings

Flight attendant filmed: 18.5 years in prison for secret recordings

A former flight attendant accused of attaching his cellphone to the lid of an airplane bathroom to secretly film young girls was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 20 years in prison.

Details about the verdict

Former American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, received an 18.5-year sentence followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Julia Kobick of the US District Court in Boston described his behavior as “appalling” and emphasized that the innocence of the children affected had been lost as a result of his actions.

Arrest and indictment

Thompson was arrested and charged in Lynchburg, Virginia, in January 2024 after a 14-year-old female passenger discovered his secret recording device in the toilet on his flight. Last year he was charged with attempted sexual abuse of children and possession of images of sexual abuse depicting underage, pre-pubescent victims.

Confession and apology

In court on Wednesday, he apologized and described his actions as “selfish, perverse and wrong.” According to police, Thompson, who is from Charlotte, North Carolina, had footage of four other girls, ages 7 to 14, using the plane's bathrooms over a nine-month period.

The impact on the victims

In a sentencing memo submitted to the court, U.S. government prosecutors said Thompson "stripped five young girls of their innocence and belief in the good in the world and the people they meet there, leaving them instead with fear, distrust, uncertainty and sadness."

Treatment and further steps

Thompson, who will serve his sentence at Butner FMC in North Carolina, plans to seek special treatment for sex offenders, his attorneys said. An attorney for Thompson said via email that he would have no further comment.