Facing major backlash after that court filing, the airline has announced that that accusation is wrong. According to the DailyWire, an American Airlines spokesperson said that the external attorneys representing them had “made an error” with that court filing.
The spokesperson said, Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended this morning.”
The spokesperson added, “We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our core mission is to care for people and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.” The Associated Press (AP) reported that lawyers representing the airline amended the court filing back on Wednesday, May 22nd in a state district court in Austin, Texas.
The new filing is shorter and deletes the accusation that the girl caused her own injuries.
In the original filing, the airlines said in the court document that it would dispute the family’s claim showing that any injuries the nine-year-old girl suffered were caused by the girl’s “own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by (her) use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”
After the incident, the nine-year-old’s family sued American Airlines after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informed them that videos of their daughter were found on the former flight attendant’s phone. The former flight attendant, identified as 37-year-old Estes Carter Thompson III, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse.
According to ABC News, Thompson is due in federal court in Boston on July 1st. The charges he faces carry maximum sentences of up to 30 and 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
Thompson has been accused of having video recordings of four girls, including the nine-year-old, using the restrooms on the plane. He is also accused of trying to secretly record a video of a 14-year-old girl using the bathroom on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston. Paul Llewellyn, the attorney representing the family of the nine-year-old said that blaming the child is “both shocking and outrageous.”
In a statement to People, Llewellyn said, “To blame a nine-year-old for being filmed while using the airplane bathroom is both shocking and outrageous. In my opinion, this is a depraved legal strategy that sinks to a new low. American Airlines should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.”
The girl’s mother added, “Instead of taking responsibility for this awful event, American Airlines is actually blaming our daughter for being filmed. How in good conscience could they even make such a suggestion? It both shocks and angers us. American Airlines has no shame.”