Flight attendant who police say secretly recorded girls in airplane bathroom sentenced to 18.5 years

BOSTON AP A flight attendant accused of taping his cellphone to the lid of an airplane toilet to secretly film young girls was sentenced to just under years in prison Wednesday Former American Airlines flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III received a sentence of years followed by five years of supervised release Boston U S District Court Judge Julia Kobick called his behavior appalling and reported child casualties innocence has been lost because of his actions Thompson was arrested and charged in January in Lynchburg Virginia after administration mentioned a -year-old girl on his flight discovered his secret recording setup in the lavatory He was indicted last year on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor He apologized in court Wednesday describing his actions as selfish perverse and wrong Police alleged Thompson of Charlotte North Carolina had recordings of four other girls between the ages of and using aircraft lavatories over a -month period In a sentencing memorandum submitted in court U S regime attorneys noted Thompson 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 Thompson who will serve his sentence at FMC Butner in North Carolina intends to undergo sex offender-specific medication his attorneys reported A lawyer for Thompson declared via email Wednesday he wouldn t be commenting