• Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, used red ‘catering’ stickers to disguise hidden phone in first-class lavatory
• Teen girl spotted the iPhone’s flashing light after using toilet mid-flight from Charlotte to Boston
• Search of his iCloud uncovered videos of four more young girls, including a 7-year-old
• Prosecutors say he used his job to prey on “innocent children”
• Thompson sentenced to 18.5 years in federal prison, plus 5 years supervised release

BOSTON — A former American Airlines flight attendant has been sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison after he was caught using a rigged first-class lavatory as a secret recording studio to film underage girls — including a 14-year-old passenger on a flight to Boston.

Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, from North Carolina, will serve 18.5 years behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.

His crimes came to light after a 14-year-old girl boarded a Boston-bound flight from Charlotte last year and was told by Thompson — then working the cabin — that the first-class bathroom was open. He added the toilet seat was “broken” and claimed he needed to “wash his hands” before she entered.

Inside the lavatory, the girl noticed red stickers on the underside of the toilet lid labeled “INOPERATIVE CATERING EQUIPMENT” and “SEAT BROKEN” in black ink. Beneath the stickers? A hidden iPhone, its camera flash blinking.

The teen, having already used the toilet and redressed, was horrified to spot the phone. She snapped a photo of the device and immediately alerted her parents and flight staff — reportedly shaking with fear as she did so.

Her father confronted Thompson, who then locked himself inside the same lavatory for 3–5 minutes before the flight’s descent into Boston. The phone, later seized by authorities, appeared to have been factory reset.

Cops found 11 more of the same fake “equipment” stickers in his suitcase — proof he came prepared to hunt children in the sky.

A search of his iCloud account uncovered four additional videos of girls — ages 7, 9, 11, and 14 — using airplane bathrooms. One 9-year-old, flying as an unaccompanied minor, had more than 50 photos taken of her, including close-ups of her face while she slept.

In a damning sentencing memo, prosecutors said Thompson “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,” and called his lavatory setup a “secret recording studio.”

“In so doing, he robbed five young girls of their innocence and belief in the goodness of the world,” prosecutors wrote.

Thompson’s federal public defender argued for a 15-year sentence, calling him a first-time offender who was “deeply remorseful” and “amenable to rehabilitative efforts.” They claimed Thompson now views the arrest as a wake-up call and intends to undergo sex offender–specific treatment.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office pushed for the maximum sentence of 20 years. In the end, the judge ordered 222 months in federal prison — 18.5 years — plus five years of supervised release.

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