Flight attendant indicted in try and document teen in aircraft lavatory

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BOSTON (AP) — An American Airways flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities mentioned he tried to secretly document video of a 14-year-old woman utilizing an airplane lavatory final September.

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Police have additionally alleged that Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of 4 different women utilizing bathrooms on an plane the place he labored.

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Thompson was indicted on one depend of tried sexual exploitation of kids and one depend of possession of photographs of kid sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.

Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been in federal custody since. A lawyer for Thompson mentioned after the indictment by a federal grand jury that he was unable to remark.

Investigators mentioned that about halfway via a Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old received up to make use of the principle cabin bathroom nearest to her seat however discovered it was occupied.

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Thompson then informed her the first-class bathroom was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators mentioned. Earlier than she entered the toilet, Thompson allegedly informed her he wanted to clean his fingers and that the bathroom seat was damaged, they mentioned.

After he left, the teenager entered the toilet and he or she noticed purple stickers on the underside of the bathroom seat lid, which was within the open place, officers mentioned.

Beneath the stickers, Thompson had hid his iPhone to document a video, investigators mentioned. The woman used her telephone to take an image of the stickers and hid iPhone earlier than leaving.

Prosecutors additionally allege a whole lot of photographs of kid sexual abuse generated via synthetic intelligence had been discovered saved on Thompson’s iCloud account.

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Tried sexual exploitation of kids carries a sentence of 15-30 years in jail, whereas possessing photographs of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor can imply as much as 20 years in jail.

Each fees additionally present for at the very least 5 years and as much as a lifetime of supervised launch, a nice of as much as $250,000 and restitution.

American Airways beforehand issued a press release saying the flight attendant was “instantly withheld from service” and hasn’t labored for the reason that telephone was found.

A search of Thompson’s iCloud account revealed 4 further situations between January and August 2023 wherein Thompson recorded a minor utilizing the rest room on an plane, in accordance with investigators.

These depicted within the recordings had been 7, 9, 11 and 14 years outdated on the time, they mentioned. Their households have been contacted by police, investigators mentioned.

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