American Airlines fires lawyer who said child should have seen bathroom camera
Airline Blames Child for Bathroom Cam?
American Airlines has dismissed its legal team after facing criticism for their defense in a lawsuit involving a former flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson, who is accused of filming underage girls in an airplane bathroom. The controversy arose when the airline's previous attorneys suggested that a 9-year-old victim "should have known" she was being recorded. The airline has since retracted this claim and hired new attorneys, amid ongoing legal battles and public backlash.
What specific allegations are being made against the former flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson?
Estes Carter Thompson, a former American Airlines flight attendant, is facing multiple allegations of recording underage girls in airplane bathrooms. He was initially arrested after a 14-year-old girl noticed a phone with its camera flashlight turned on in the bathroom on a flight from North Carolina to New York in September 2023. Thompson is currently facing federal charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse3. Additionally, police allege that Thompson had recordings of four other girls, aged 7, 9, 11, and 14, using aircraft lavatories5. The incidents are believed to have occurred between January and August of 2023.
What was the initial defense presented by American Airlines' previous legal team regarding the 9-year-old's awareness of the recording device?
The initial defense presented by American Airlines' previous legal team regarding the 9-year-old's awareness of the recording device was that the child "knew or should have known" that the airplane bathroom "contained a visible and illuminated recording device1." This defense was used to argue that the airline was not negligent, suggesting that the responsibility for recognizing the recording setup lay with the young girl herself. This argument was later retracted by the airline, which stated that the defense did not represent their views and amended the legal complaint accordingly.