A day after American Airlines lawyers argued that a 9-year-old acted negligently when she was recorded by a hidden camera in an airplane bathroom, the airline is backtracking on that defense .
FBI agents knocked on the 9-year-old’s family home nearly a year after the alleged January 2023 incident to inform her parents that videos of the child had been found on a phone belonging to a former hostess air currently in police custody.
The airline said in a statement Wednesday regarding the filing: “Our outside legal counsel retained from our insurance company made an error in this filing. The defense included is not representative of our airline and we have ordered that it be amended this morning We do so I 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 take care of people – and. the foundation of this is the safety and security of our customers and our team.
The court filing was filed Tuesday on behalf of American Airlines in response to a civil suit filed by the 9-year-old’s parents in Texas District Court against the airline and the flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, who allegedly registered the child.
The filing, which broadly denies the allegations and raises several affirmative defenses, including contributory negligence, states: “Defendant would demonstrate that any injuries or illnesses allegedly suffered by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were proximately caused by the fault and negligence of the plaintiff. were immediately caused by the plaintiff’s use of the compromised restroom, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.
Estes Thompson is shown in this booking photo.
Blue Ridge Regional Corrections Authority
The suit was filed by Mary Doe’s parents, alleging that Thompson secretly filmed their 9-year-old daughter in an airplane bathroom during a flight to Los Angeles in January 2023.
Thompson is currently in federal custody after being charged with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child sexual abuse images depicting a prepubescent minor. He was arrested after a 14-year-old passenger on another flight discovered Thompson’s hidden phone in the plane’s bathroom. Police said Thompson allegedly possessed recordings of four other underage female passengers using the restroom on the same plane. One of these recordings is believed to have been that of Mary Doe. Thompson has pleaded not guilty.
Reacting to the airline’s filing Tuesday, Jane Doe, mother of Mary Doe, said: “Instead of taking responsibility for this horrible event, American Airlines is actually blaming our daughter for being filmed.
“How could they, in good conscience, make such a suggestion? It shocks and angers us. American Airlines has no shame,” the mother added.
In response to American Airlines’ backtracking on its legal case, Paul Llewellyn, an attorney representing the 9-year-old girl’s family, said Wednesday: “American Airlines has clearly faced intense media and public backlash in accusing a 9-year-old girl of being “
Llewellyn said the airline did not contact the family after the recording was discovered.
Representatives for American Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the attorney’s assertion that the airline had not contacted the family.
ABC News
