A lawyer representing American Airways has shockingly claimed a 9-year-old lady who’s suing the corporate ought to’ve recognized she was being videotaped by a creepy flight attendant whereas utilizing a aircraft rest room.
The airline’s attorneys tossed out the “outrageous” suggestion in authorized papers filed Monday as a part of an ongoing lawsuit the lady’s household introduced towards the corporate final 12 months, the kid’s lawyer mentioned.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, was arrested for allegedly secretly filming a number of ladies between the ages of seven and 14 over a number of months final 12 months, in line with federal prosecutors.
American Airways wrote in Monday’s authorized submitting the younger lady ought to have been conscious {that a} machine was recording her as she used the bathroom.
“Any accidents or diseases alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, had been proximately attributable to Plaintiff’s personal fault and negligence, had been proximately attributable to Plaintiff’s use of the compromised toilet, which she knew or ought to have recognized contained a visual and illuminated recording machine,” in line with one of many varied authorized defenses provided by American Airways’ legal professionals.
The household of the lady is “completely furious” with the airways’ newest authorized transfer, their lawyer Paul Llewellyn mentioned.
“I used to be completely shocked and I feel it’s outrageous,” Llewellyn instructed The Put up. “The thought that American Airways and its legal professionals would blame a 9-year-old lady for being filmed, for my part, simply smacks of desperation and depravity.
“What on Earth is American Airways considering by adopting such a method?”
An electronic mail searching for remark from American Airways and the authorized agency representing the corporate within the case was not instantly returned Tuesday night.
After their flight crew member’s arrest, American Airways mentioned that it takes “these allegations very critically.”
The 9-year-old’s household, who lives in Texas, filed the lawsuit in February greater than a 12 months after she was allegedly recorded on a January 2023 flight to Los Angeles.
Thompson was arrested and charged by federal brokers in January after the sick allegations got here to mild when a North Carolina 14-year-old lady on a separate flight seen an iPhone was recording her after she simply wrapped up within the aircraft’s rest room in September 2023.
She snapped a photograph of the surprising setup earlier than leaving the bathroom.
Llewellyn mentioned Tuesday that American Airways didn’t counsel the North Carolina teen was culpable in a separate and ongoing lawsuit towards the airline that was first filed in December.
Thompson pleaded not responsible throughout his arraignment in Massachusetts federal courtroom Monday to prices of tried sexual exploitation of kids and possession of kid pornography depicting a prepubescent minor, the Boston Herald reported.
Authorities discovered at the least 4 cases of Thompson recording a minor whereas the kid used the toilet, federal prosecutors mentioned.
Within the authorized temporary filed Monday, American Airways additionally blamed Thompson, claiming his alleged actions occurred “outdoors the course and scope of his employment.”
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