American Airlines: Attempt to blame 9-year-old for being recorded in lavatory is 'an error'
American Airlines is altering course after initially suggesting that a young girl was at fault for being recorded by a flight attendant in the lavatory.
In a filing on May 21, the airline asserted that one of the plaintiffs, a 9-year-old girl, was recorded in the bathroom due to her “own fault and negligence.”
“[The] Plaintiff’s use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device,” American Airlines stated in response to the petition.
Attorney Paul Llewellyn is representing two young girls, including the 9-year-old, who were recorded on separate flights.
“I was both shocked and outraged,” Llewellyn told. “As a lawyer, I understand the need to assert possible defenses, but I cannot fathom a scenario where it would ever be appropriate to blame a 9-year-old for being filmed in an airplane bathroom.”
In a statement, American Airlines acknowledged an error in the filing.
“Our external legal counsel retained by our insurance company made an error in this filing. The defense included does not reflect our airline’s stance, and we have instructed for it to be amended promptly,” a spokesperson for American Airlines stated. “We do not believe this child is at fault, and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our primary mission is to care for people — and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.”
Llewellyn emphasized the significant impact of this situation on the victims, particularly since the images have not been located.
“As a result, this has had a profound impact on them,” he said. “These images could potentially circulate on the dark web indefinitely. These young girls will carry the burden of this experience for the rest of their lives, with these intimate images of them existing out there, and we don’t know who has access to them.”
Former American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Thompson, faces charges for allegedly recording minors on board multiple flights.
On April 26, Thompson, a 36-year-old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, was charged after prosecutors alleged that he covertly recorded minors using the plane’s lavatory.
Thompson is accused of possessing recordings of four minors, aged 7, 9, 11, and 14, who had used the bathroom while he was working on the aircraft, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
More than 50 images of the 9-year-old victim were discovered in Thompson’s iCloud. Additionally, the photos included images of the victim seated before the flight and close-ups of her sleeping onboard, the press release stated.
A 14-year-old girl provided evidence of the incident.
According to a criminal complaint filed on December 1, 2023, the family of a 14-year-old girl sued Thompson, alleging that he secretly recorded her while she used the lavatory.
During a flight from North Carolina to Boston on September 2, 2023, the girl needed to use the bathroom, and Thompson directed her to the first-class facility. Thompson claimed he needed to wash his hands before she used the facility, the complaint stated.
Upon using the bathroom, the girl noticed a phone hidden beneath the broken sign of the seat. She then used her own phone to take a picture of the concealed device to show her parents, according to the complaint.
When she unlocked the lavatory door, Thompson was standing outside and re-entered the bathroom. The girl’s father then confronted Thompson about the situation. Although Thompson initially hesitated to show his phone to the father, no intimate photos of the girl were visible on his device, the complaint said.
Thompson’s charges include one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.
“I believe it’s time for American Airlines to take responsibility for what happened instead of pursuing these baseless legal defenses,” Llewellyn remarked. “If they genuinely care about their passengers and take this case seriously, they need to demonstrate that through their actions, not just their words.”
