Estes Carter Thompson III, an American Airlines flight attendant, was sentenced to 18 years and six months in federal prison for secretly recording a 14-year-old girl in an airplane bathroom during a flight from Charlotte to Boston in September 2023.

Thompson was arrested in January 2024 after a 14-year-old girl discovered his cellphone taped to the toilet lid, revealing his recording setup.

The incident occurred when the girl, seeking to use the lavatory, was directed by Thompson to the first-class bathroom, where she noticed red stickers on the toilet seat and found the hidden recording device.

After using the restroom, the girl documented the device with her phone before exiting and later showed the picture to her parents, who confronted Thompson.

The victim's family filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, claiming the airline failed to recognize Thompson as a danger and did not confiscate his phone, potentially destroying evidence, leading to a settlement in February 2025.

Investigators found that Thompson had concealed his iPhone in the bathroom to record the girl, and the victim discovered stickers indicating the toilet seat was broken after he left.

During the court proceedings, Thompson apologized for his 'selfish, perverse, and wrong' actions and expressed plans to undergo sex offender-specific treatment while serving his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina.

Thompson waived his right to appeal as part of his sentence and will serve five years of supervised release afterward.

At sentencing on July 23, 2025, Judge Julia Kobick condemned Thompson's actions as 'appalling' and emphasized that he robbed the victims of their innocence, sentencing him to over 18 years in prison.

U.S. government attorneys highlighted the psychological impact on the victims, stating that Thompson's actions caused fear, mistrust, insecurity, and sadness, robbing them of their innocence.

American Airlines immediately removed Thompson from service following his arrest and has not employed him since the incident.

Thompson had previously recorded four other girls aged 7 to 14 over nine months, and pleaded guilty in March 2025 to charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography.