American Airlines later released a statement distancing the company from the lawsuit, saying the lawyers had made a mistake and the defense would be changed.

Lawyers for American Airlines said in a court filing this week that a 9-year-old who was allegedly filmed by a flight attendant’s phone hidden in an airplane lavatory was responsible for the incident.

In response to the amended civil complaint filed on April 20 in Travis County, Texas, by the 9-year-old girl’s family, the company’s lawyers suggested in a statement filed on Monday, May 20, that the unnamed alleged victim was at fault because she would have been aware that she was being recorded using the bathroom during a flight from Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, in January 2023.

“Any injuries or illnesses allegedly sustained by Plaintiff Mary Doe were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s fault and negligence, directly resulting from Plaintiff’s use of the damaged toilet, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device,” the filing, reviewed by PEOPLE, states.

The company’s lawyers also stated in the filing that the accused flight attendant, identified as Estes Carter Thompson III, “was not acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the alleged misconduct toward plaintiff.”

Related topics: Flight attendant arrested for allegedly filming minors in airplane toilet

In an emailed statement to PEOPLE, the nine-year-old girl’s lawyer said he was outraged by the company’s defense.

“Blaming a 9-year-old for being filmed using the airplane bathroom is both shocking and outrageous,” said Paul Llewellyn of Lewis & Llewellyn LLP. “In my opinion, this is a depraved legal strategy that reaches a new low. American Airlines should be deeply ashamed.”

“Instead of taking responsibility for this horrific incident, American Airlines is blaming our daughter for being filmed,” the girl’s mother added in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “How could they in good conscience even suggest such a thing? It shocks and angers us. American Airlines has no shame.”

American Airlines later condemned the appeal in a statement, saying the company’s lawyers had made a mistake and the defense would be changed.

“Our outside legal counsel, retained by our insurance company, made an error in this filing,” the statement emailed to PEOPLE said. “The attached defense is not representative of our airline and we ordered it changed this morning. We do not believe this child is to blame and we take the allegations against a former team member very seriously. Our core job is to take care of people – and the foundation of that is the safety of our customers and our team.”

When the 9-year-old girl went to the bathroom during the Jan. 26, 2023 flight, Thompson allegedly asked her to wait, went into the bathroom ahead of her and told her he had to “clean up a mess” before she could use the bathroom, according to the lawsuit, which was also reviewed by PEOPLE.

Thompson then entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him while the girl waited. Moments later, Thompson left the bathroom and the girl went inside, where she partially undressed to use the restroom. She then went back to her seat, according to the lawsuit.

“Defendant Thompson stored images of Mary Doe’s face, bare buttocks, and genitals on his iCloud account,” the lawsuit states.

This is not the first time Thompson has been accused of secretly filming a minor with his phone. Thompson was arrested in Lynchburg, Virginia, in January after allegedly filming a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts, in September 2023, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the time. He has been in federal custody since then.

Prosecutors allege Thompson convinced the 14-year-old girl to use the plane’s first-class bathrooms and accompanied her there.

He allegedly got into the bathroom before her and told her the toilet seat was broken. When she entered the bathroom, the alleged victim saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet lid indicating that the toilet seat was broken. Thompson’s iPhone was allegedly attached with tape and hidden under the stickers so he could record videos, the statement said.

“The minor victim used her phone to take a photo of the red stickers and the hidden iPhone that she found in the restroom before leaving. At this point, Thompson reportedly immediately re-entered the restroom,” the statement said. The 14-year-old then informed her parents, who reported the incident to the crew on board, who in turn notified the authorities.

Authorities allege Thompson also secretly recorded videos on his phone of underage girls in the bathrooms of airplanes on which he had previously worked.

“The minor victims allegedly seen in the secret recordings were ages seven, nine, 11 and 14 at the time,” investigators said in the statement. “In addition, over 50 images of a nine-year-old unaccompanied minor were allegedly found in Thompson’s iCloud.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement last month that “all minor victims involved in this case have been identified and their families have been contacted by law enforcement.”

In April, Thompson, 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor in connection with the alleged incident involving the 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said.

According to NBC Boston, KVUE and Boston.com, Thompson pleaded not guilty to both charges in federal court on May 20. He is expected back in court on July 1, Boston.com reports.

PEOPLE could not immediately identify an attorney who could speak on Thompson’s behalf.

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