New York, January 20: A Virginia-based flight attendant for American Airlines was arrested on Thursday by the FBI on charges of sexually exploiting children and possessing child pornography. Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, allegedly recorded several young girls in airplane bathrooms using his iPhone, which he hid behind a sticker that claimed the toilet seat was broken.

According to a report by the New York Post, one of his victims, a 14-year-old girl, noticed the phone and took a picture of it during a flight from Charlotte to Boston on September 2, 2023. She showed the photo to her parents, who informed the captain and confronted Thompson. The flight attendant locked himself in the bathroom with his phone for five minutes before landing, and police suspected he had erased his phone's data. However, they found videos of four other girls, aged 7, 9, 11 and 14, in his iCloud account, as well as more than 50 photos of a 9-year-old girl and AI-generated child sex abuse images. They also recovered the sticker from his suitcase. iPhone Found Taped to Toilet in First Class Cabin of American Airlines Flight Used by Teenage Girl, Flight Attendant Suspended.

American Airlines said they suspended Thompson from service right after the September incident and he has remained jobless ever since. However, the family of the 14-year-old girl filed a lawsuit against American Airlines in December, accusing them of failing to seize Thompson’s phone promptly and giving him a chance to “wipe out evidence” during the flight after the captain was alerted. American Airlines Passenger Creates Ruckus in Flight, Claims She Saw Flyer Who Isn't 'Real'; Video Goes Viral.

American Airlines said they removed Thompson from service after the incident and cooperated with the investigation. "These allegations are very serious and do not reflect our airline or our core mission of caring for people. The safety and security of our customers and team is our top priority," a spokesperson said, according to Fox59. Thompson faces up to 50 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 20, 2024 06:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).