Attorneys for American Airlines blamed a 9-year-old girl for not seeing a camera hidden in the restroom by a flight attendant.
Flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III was arrested in January 2024 and indicted by a federal grand jury in April.
Thompson is accused of hiding a camera in a first-class restroom and secretly recording young girls.
Court documents show Thompson guided young girls to a first-class restroom where he hid his iPhone. The smartphone was hidden behind stickers taped to a toilet seat reading, “seat broken.”
A 14-year-old girl found the camera during a flight from Charlotte to Boston last September.
When the plane landed, the FBI seized the phone. Federal agents searched through videos on the phone and identified victims ranging in ages 7 to 14.
The family of the then-9-year-old girl from Austin, Texas, didn’t know she was recorded until the FBI went to their home.
The families of the victims filed a lawsuit against Thompson and American Airlines.
In response to the lawsuit, American Airlines said the girls should have seen the outline of the hidden camera behind the stickers on the toilet.
The attorneys pointed to the photos taken by the 14-year-old girl which shows an outline of a cell phone and the phone’s flashlight shining brightly under the stickers.
The lawyers say the 9-year-old child should have also noticed the hidden phone and the bright light.
Attorney Paul Llewellyn represents the two girls and their families. He said one of the airlines’ defenses was to blame the 9-year-old for not being aware of her surroundings.
“They said that she knew or should’ve known that she was being filmed. In my view, that is absolutely outrageous. It is sickening,” Llewellyn explained.
Travel experts warn parents to accompany their children to their restroom and inspect the restroom for recording devices.
In unrelated news, American Airlines admitted to giving newly hired flight attendants poverty verification letters. The letters verify that the flight attendants live at or below the poverty level.
The letters qualify American Airlines flight attendants for government benefits such as food stamps and subsidized housing.
