Estes Thompson is shown in this booking photo. Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority
Posted on 01/19/2024 7:22:21 PM PST by Red Badger
American Airlines said that it was cooperating with the authorities to resolve the case.
SUMMARY An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested for allegedly attempting to record minors in an airplane's lavatory.
The perpetrator targeted unsuspecting minors on at least five flights.
A victim on a Charlotte to Boston flight discovered his concealed iPhone, which resulted in the Captain alerting law enforcement on the ground at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
The United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts rhas revealed that an American Airlines flight attendant was arrested after allegedly recording or attempting to record a minor while they were using the lavatory on a flight in September 2023. The perpetrator allegedly has four additional recordings of minors using the bathrooms onboard aircraft from flights he worked on previously.
Repeated recording or recording attempts
In a statement, Jodi Cohen, a Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Boston Division, said the American Airlines flight attendant was arrested after he repeatedly targeted unsuspected minors to “sexually exploit them for his own gratification.” Cohen added that what the defender is accused of is “disgraceful, and we believe, calculated, given that this alleged conduct occurred on at least five flights.”
“This case should make it crystal clear that the FBI takes crimes aboard aircraft and the sexual exploitation of children seriously. If you’ve been the victim of a crime aboard an aircraft or have witnessed one take place, we ask you to report it to both your flight crew and the FBI.”
The Attorney’s Office detailed that the alleged offender was attempting to record a 14-year-old female passenger while on an American Airlines flight between Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Boston Logan International Airlines (BOS). The airline runs at least seven daily flights on the route, with either Airbus A321 or Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to schedules published by Flightradar24.
According to the statement, the alleged crime occurred midway through the flight, when the minor wanted to use the main cabin lavatory, the nearest bathroom to where she was seated. However, it was occupied, and after waiting by the doors, the defendant approached her, offering her the use of the first class lavatory at the front of the aircraft.
Yet before she entered it, the flight attendant told her he needed to wash his hands, informing her that the seat was also broken, and proceeded to enter the lavatory. Allegedly, after the cabin crew member left the lavatory, the victim saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was open.
The stickers read, “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT,” “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN.” The words on the stickers were written by hand, and the Attorney’s Office alleged that the flight attendant’s iPhone was beneath the stickers. The victim took a picture of the scene, and after she left the lavatory, she showed the image of the stickers and the concealed phone to her parents.
American Airlines has been sued over an incident onboard a September 2 flight from Charlotte to Boston involving a hidden camera in the lavatory.
Cooperating with the authorities
In turn, the parents informed another American Airlines flight attendant, who subsequently told the Captain of the flight, who also requested the presence of law enforcement upon landing at BOS. The Attorney’s Office stated that the perpetrator’s phone may have been reset to factory settings, as he locked himself in a lavatory after being confronted by the victim’s father.
Upon searching the defendant’s suitcase, law enforcement allegedly found 11 additional “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” stickers. A further search through his iCloud resulted in police finding four other alleged incidents, such as the one on the flight between CLT and BOS, involving four different minors.
The case is currently being prosecuted. In a statement to CBS News, American Airlines said that the flight attendant has not worked for the airline since the September 2023 incident, with the carrier adding that it was fully cooperating with the authorities on the case. The airline affirmed that the safety and security of its passengers and crews were paramount.
Look at the pic in post #12.
Not only is he a pervert, he is terminally stupid...................
Estes Thompson is shown in this booking photo. Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority
Yeah, I don't get it either. I fly frequently and I've never seen a male flight attendant who wasn't a flaming homosexual.
Hi can always get a C-suite job at United...hang out with the rest of the perverts...
Suspect not named. Why not?
See Post #23.....................
I don’t get it. Is there more than one toilet in that lavatory ? It would have to be directly across from this toilet to record anyone in a state of undress. I’ve never seen an airliner lavatory with more than one toilet, but it’s been a long time since I have flown commercially.
And what’s up with the phone’s flashlight being on? Wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway? Maybe that is what prompted the young lady to take a photo of the ‘evidence’.
Yes, the perv is stupid.
It is set to record her naked bottom as she sat down................
What the heck?
Good for that girl!
lol
Looks like BabaOpedo left Youcrayne and got a gig in the US. But not for long. . .
Didn’t see the perps name. I’d show and tell everyone one that plane what happened and ask for volunteers to join in beating his ass to a pulp.
That's 50 in pedo years.
Would you sit down on a toilet seat that had an ‘out of order’ sign on it taped to the lid , with a cellphone under the sign ?
What is that ‘bib’ thing he’s wearing in the booking photo ?
I don’t see how you can compare those two incidents. I presume you are referring to management decisions about performance, which I get, but there is a world of difference and certainly a question of intent that comes into play.
Have you ever landed an airplane ?
Something about this incident stinks. It is like it was an arranged incident designed to make the FBI the ‘heroes’ who saved little kids from a perp.
Maybe it’s the reporting that is the problem. Whatever the case, we’ll likely never know.
“Estes Carter Thompson III, of Charlotte, was charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor”
A white guy.
There is a lot of bad hiring going on in airlines. In just the past few months we’ve seen…
1. That Pilot Induced Oscillation hard three-bounce landing was by a guy marked “do not rehire” by the airline
2. United Airlines “equity” hiring
3. FAA wants to hire people with memtal problems
4. United Airlines CEO is a drag queen
5. Flight attendant videoing young passengers in the bathroom
6. Plug blowing out of a fuselage at 16,000 feet — poor or no QA
That’s just off the top of my head.
How can you NOT see a pattern of serious hiring problems in the airline industry?
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