Ex-American Airlines attendant sentenced for recording children
Ex-American Airlines employee sentenced to prison
A sentencing document says the flight attendant has no prior criminal history, but developed an "unhealthy relationship with alcohol."
A former flight attendant accused of recording a girl in an airplane bathroom was sentenced to more than 18 years behind bars.
Estes Thompson III's legal problems aren't over as victims are suing him and the airline for what he did.
Estes Carter Thompson III (Lynchburg Detention Center)
What we know:
The sentencing document says the flight attendant had no prior criminal history but developed an "unhealthy relationship with alcohol."
He would place his phone behind a sticker prior to kids using airplane restrooms.
American Airlines backtracks after lawyers blame girl, 9, for not seeing hidden camera in bathroom
The airline's attorneys wrote in an answer to the lawsuit involving the 9-year-old from Austin, "She knew or should have known [the compromised lavatory] contained a visible and illuminated recording device." But now, the airline says its outside legal counsel "made an error in the filing."
FOX 4's David Sentendrey spoke with the attorney for the two victims, who wonders how many more victims there might be and who has had access to these images.
Thompson III was sentenced to 18 years and 6 months in federal prison. A now former American Airlines flight attendant who pleaded guilty to secretly recording children using airplane restrooms.
American Airlines flight attendant pleads guilty to secretly recording underage girl in plane bathroom
A former American Airlines flight attendant pleaded guilty to charges that he secretly recorded an underage girl in an airplane bathroom. Police say he had recordings of other girls in similar situations.
Attorney on sentencing
What they're saying:
Paul Llewellyn represents the families of two victims in civil lawsuits, including a girl from Austin, who was 9-years-old when she was recorded.
"And I think the judge summed it up today, he said, ‘You took away their innocence,’" said Llewellyn.
"The idea that they were filmed in the most vulnerable position. How could this ever have been allowed to happen?"
Recording incident
The backstory:
A 14-year-old girl from North Carolina took a photo revealing an iPhone behind a sticker on a toilet seat. She told her parents. They told the flight crew. The father confronted Thompson, who hid in the restroom.
His phone was confiscated upon landing at Boston airport. Investigators say it had been reset to factory settings, but they found images of four minors on his iCloud account.
"It was just so brazen, the fact he would do this, you know, sometimes just steps away from these poor young girls’s families, from their parents. And we know of five instances, but anyone who’s that brazen, who knows how long he’s been doing it for? How many potential other victims there are out there, and probably we will never know."
Thompson also had more than 50 images of an unaccompanied 9-year-old sleeping on a flight while traveling to Disney World. Llewellyn says Thompson apologized during sentencing,
"’My actions were selfish, perverse and wrong’. That’s how he began his statement, and he also said the word ‘sorry’ is not enough, and it never will be, and he also said, ‘I want to change, I must change,’" said Llewellyn.
What's next:
Thompson was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by an interview conducted by FOX 4's David Sentendrey. Additional information was provided by previous FOX 4 reporting.