Lawyers representing the airline seemed to put the blame on the young girl, saying in court documents her own “fault and negligence” was responsible for being secretly recorded.
The mother of a 9-year-old girl who was secretly recorded in an American Airlines bathroom tells Inside Edition that the airline tried blaming the innocent child for the incident.
“They’re bullying and shaming a 9-year-old,” the mother says. She asked to remain anonymous to protect her daughter’s identity.
An iPhone was found hidden in an American Airlines bathroom. The phone was partially covered by a hand-written sign that read “seat broken.”
The FBI launched an investigation and determined the phone had allegedly been planted by a flight attendant working for American Airlines.
The parents of the 9-year-old did not know she had been videotaped. They say they were notified by the FBI that images of their daughter had been found on the flight attendant’s iCloud account.
Lawyers representing the airline seemed to put the blame on the young girl, saying in court documents her own “fault and negligence” was responsible because she entered a “compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”
“I’m beyond angry,” the girl’s mother says. “I’m appalled.”
After an uproar on social media, American Airlines said the response was “an error.” “We do not believe this child is at fault,” the airline said.
“In my view, the bell cannot be unrung. There is no world where this defense should ever have been included in the first place,” the family's attorney, Paul Llewellyn, tells Inside Edition.
The accused flight attendant has pleaded not guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of children.
“I feel like he’s a monster,” the child’s mother tells Inside Edition.
American Airlines says the flight attendant’s actions were outside the scope of his employment so they should not be held liable.
