American Airlines fires legal team that blamed 9-year-old girl for creepy flight attendant filming her in bathroom
American Airlines has dismissed its legal team after lawyers representing the company controversially argued that a 9-year-old girl should have known she was being filmed by a flight attendant in an airplane bathroom.
This decision follows the retraction of a legal filing by an external law firm, which shockingly claimed the girl’s injuries were due to her “own fault and negligence” and that she “knew or should have known” the bathroom contained a recording device.
The airline has since apologized for the filing and distanced itself from the firm’s assertions. “We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously,” American Airlines stated to The Post on Wednesday. Paul Llewellyn, the family’s attorney, welcomed the airline’s decision to hire new legal representation, expressing hope that the airline would now take responsibility for the incident.
American Airlines confirmed the change in counsel via an email to The Post on Wednesday. The filing was part of a lawsuit initiated by the girl's family, following an incident where she was allegedly recorded by flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson III during a January 2023 flight to Los Angeles.
Thompson, 37, was arrested and charged in January after a 14-year-old girl noticed an iPhone recording her in a plane bathroom in September 2023, capturing a photo of the setup. Authorities found at least four other instances of Thompson allegedly recording minors. Earlier this month, Thompson pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
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