Flight attendant who police say secretly recorded girls in airplane bathroom sentenced to 18.5 years

BOSTON — A flight attendant accused of taping his cellphone to the lid of an airplane toilet to secretly film young girls was sentenced to just under 20 years in prison Wednesday.

Former American Airlines flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III received a sentence of 18.5 years, followed by five years of supervised release. Boston U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick called his behavior “appalling" and said child victims' “innocence has been lost” because of his actions.

Thompson was arrested and charged in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, after authorities said a 14-year-old girl on his flight discovered his secret recording setup in the lavatory. He was indicted last year on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor.

He apologized in court Wednesday, describing his actions as “selfish, perverse and wrong.”

Police alleged Thompson, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of four other girls between the ages of 7 and 14 using aircraft lavatories over a 9-month period.

In a sentencing memorandum submitted in court, U.S. government attorneys said Thompson “robbed five young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world and the people they would encounter in it, instead leaving them with fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness.”

Thompson, who will serve his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina, intends to undergo sex offender-specific treatment, his attorneys said. A lawyer for Thompson said via email Wednesday he wouldn’t be commenting.