American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, has been indicted on serious charges after allegedly attempting to secretly record a 14-year-old girl in an airplane bathroom.

The incident took place in September of last year, and authorities have claimed that Thompson also had recordings of four other girls using lavatories on the aircraft where he was employed.

Thompson has been charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse, specifically depicting a prepubescent minor.

The flight attendant was charged and subsequently arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has since remained in federal custody.

Thompson’s lawyer has declined to comment on the recent indictment issued by a federal grand jury.

According to investigators, during a flight from Charlotte to Boston on September 2, 2023, the 14-year-old victim attempted to use a lavatory near her seat but found it occupied.

Thompson then allegedly directed her to the unoccupied first-class lavatory, claiming that the main cabin lavatory was unavailable due to a broken toilet seat.

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After Thompson left, the teenager noticed red stickers hidden beneath the open toilet seat lid in the first-class lavatory.

It was discovered that Thompson had concealed his iPhone beneath these stickers to record a video of the victim.

However, she managed to capture a photo of the stickers and the hidden iPhone using her phone before leaving the bathroom.

Prosecutors have further revealed that Thompson’s iCloud account contained hundreds of images of child sexual abuse, which were allegedly generated through artificial intelligence.

The accused faces severe penalties, as attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a prison sentence of 15-30 years, while possession of images of sexual abuse involving prepubescent minors can lead to up to 20 years of imprisonment.

Additionally, both charges include a minimum of five years and a maximum of lifetime supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and potential restitution.

American Airlines has taken swift action in response to the allegations, stating that the flight attendant was immediately withheld from service and has not worked since the discovery of the hidden phone.

Further investigations into Thompson’s iCloud account revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 where he recorded minors using lavatories on airplanes.

The victims in these recordings were aged 7, 9, 11, and 14 at the time.

Authorities have contacted the families of these minors as part of the ongoing investigation.