CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former North Carolina flight attendant accused of recording children in plane bathrooms will remain in jail as he waits for his trial to begin.
The FBI arrested 37-year-old Estes Thompson III last month.
Agents said he taped an iPhone to a toilet and tried to record a 14-year-old girl.
Investigators said that about midway through the Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied.
Thompson then told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said. Before she entered the bathroom, Thompson allegedly told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken, they said.
After he left, the teen entered the bathroom and she saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position, officials said.
Beneath the stickers, Thompson had concealed his iPhone to record a video, investigators said. The girl used her phone to take a picture of the stickers and concealed the iPhone before leaving. Thompson then immediately went back into the bathroom. Law enforcement officers met the plane at the gate after it landed.
A lawyer representing the family member of the 14-year-old has said they are suing the airline.
American Airlines previously issued a statement saying the flight attendant was “immediately withheld from service following the September 2023 incident” and hasn’t worked since.
Police said they later found recordings of other underage girls in plane bathrooms.
If convicted, Thompson faces at least 15 years and up to a maximum of 30 years in prison.