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

By LEAH WILLINGHAM and MICHAEL CASEY 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 Related Articles Google s AI push pays off with solid second quarter but doubts about company s future persist Man who killed Idaho firefighters had been turned away by fire department Army Postal Arrangement marks th anniversary with stamps honoring Ben Franklin and postal carriers A former Afghan U S translator was seized by ICE agents Veterans are fighting for his release Peter Rice to oversee opening and closing ceremonies for LA Olympics and Paralympics 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 explained 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 FILE In this photo provided by the law firm Lewis Llewellyn LLP an iPhone is taped to the back of a toilet seat on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte N C to Boston Sept Lewis Llewellyn LLP via AP File 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 governing body attorneys explained 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 remedy his attorneys declared A lawyer for Thompson revealed via email Wednesday he wouldn t be commenting