ROANOKE, VA – Estes Thompson III appeared in court for the first time Tuesday after being arrested in Lynchburg on child exploitation and pornography charges.
Thompson was arrested for allegedly secretly recording, or attempting to record, a girl passenger using the bathroom back in September.
Further investigation alleged he had recordings of more underage girls using bathrooms on planes he worked on.
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His appearance on Tuesday was to notify him of his charges, which are one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor.
Thompson’s family members attended in person, while at least one of the victim’s parents listened in over Zoom.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, over 50 photos of a nine-year-old were found on Thompson’s iCloud.
Thompson elected to move the rest of the court proceedings, including a preliminary hearing to a federal court in Massachusetts where the alleged crimes occurred.
He’ll be transferred by U.S. Marshalls to Massachusetts for his preliminary hearing. A date has not yet been set.