The ex-flight attendant who was convicted of filming a 14-year-old woman in a Boston-bound aircraft’s toilet has been sentenced to federal jail.
The previous American Airways worker, Estes Carter Thompson III, was sentenced to 18.5 years behind bars, adopted by 5 years of supervised launch.
The North Carolina man had pleaded responsible in Massachusetts courtroom to tried sexual exploitation of youngsters, and possession of kid pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
In his plea settlement, he agreed to a sentence of 15-20 years in jail and 5 years of supervised launch.
The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace known as for the decide to impose a sentence of 20 years in jail and 5 years of supervised launch — whereas the protection requested that the decide impose a 15-year jail sentence and 5 years of supervised launch.
Thompson was arrested final yr in reference to secretly recording a 14-year-old woman on a flight to Boston.
He additionally allegedly had recordings of 4 different woman passengers utilizing airplane toilets.
“Estes Carter Thompson III took advantage of his position of trust as a flight attendant to select among the passengers on his flights innocent children who he could exploit, directing them to an aircraft bathroom that he had set up as a secret recording studio, recording videos of the children’s bodies in one of their most private moments, and then storing, editing, and revisiting those videos, all for his own sexual gratification,” the feds wrote of their sentencing memo.
“In so doing, he 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,” the feds added.
The federal public defender for Thompson wrote that the defendant was “a first-time offender, deeply remorseful, and amenable to rehabilitative efforts.”
“He fully acknowledges the wrongfulness of his conduct and is remorseful for the harm he has caused,” the general public defender wrote about Thompson. “On the identical time, he has additionally come to view this arrest as a much-needed intervention and alternative to handle the corrosive behaviors which resulted in his offenses.
“Now sober and with a better appreciation of the need for sex offender specific treatment, Mr. Thompson intends to avail himself of necessary rehabilitative services to the fullest extent possible,” the defender added.
The 14-year-old woman throughout the flight from Charlotte to Boston had discovered a hid iPhone within the first-class toilet after she had partially undressed and used the bathroom, in keeping with the FBI Boston’s affidavit for the case.
Earlier than the woman went to the lavatory, she had been ready to make use of the primary cabin toilet when Thompson allegedly advised her that the first-class bathroom was unoccupied and that she might use it. Thompson additionally advised her that earlier than she might go in, he needed to wash his palms. He additionally stated the bathroom seat was damaged.
Then when the woman entered the lavatory, she noticed pink stickers on the underside of the bathroom seat lid, which acknowledged, “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” and “REMOVE FROM SERVICE,” and “SEAT BROKEN” was hand-written in black ink on one of many stickers. Beneath the pink stickers, Thompson had allegedly hid his iPhone to file a video.
When the woman was performed utilizing the lavatory, she stood up, dressed, and turned to flush the bathroom. When she turned, she observed that an iPhone was protruding out from beneath the pink stickers, and the flash of the iPhone was illuminated.
The woman took a photograph of the hid iPhone and advised her mother and father what occurred. The woman was reportedly “visibly shaking” when she advised one other flight attendant concerning the incident, in keeping with the FBI affidavit.
The woman’s father confronted Thompson, who then reportedly locked himself within the bathroom along with his iPhone for 3 to 5 minutes earlier than the flight’s descent into Boston.
Police on the bottom at Logan Airport reported that his iPhone might have been restored to manufacturing unit settings. Additionally, police discovered 11 “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” stickers in Thompson’s suitcase.
A search of Thompson’s iCloud account allegedly revealed 4 different cases of him recording a woman utilizing the rest room on an plane. The minor victims allegedly depicted within the recordings have been seven, 9, 11 and 14 years previous on the time.
As well as, greater than 50 pictures of a 9-year-old unaccompanied minor have been allegedly present in Thompson’s iCloud. The pictures included images taken whereas the minor sufferer was seated in her seat pre-flight and close-ups of her face whereas sleeping.
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