Stephen Bradley Mell

INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY

Stephen Bradley Mell is a New Jersey private pilot who was charged by federal prosecutors after using his airplane to transport a minor across state lines for sexual purposes. According to court records cited in legal analysis of the Epstein case, Mell surrendered his pilot license and three aircraft as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors on charges he used his airplane to cross state lines with a minor for purposes of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old. The indictment alleged that Mell, a 51-year-old married father of three, put his plane on autopilot to have sex with his victim on a flight from Massachusetts to New Jersey. Mell met the teenager when her mother brought her to him for flying lessons. While Mell's case is cited in discussions about Epstein's pilots and their potential accountability, Mell himself was not an associate of Epstein but rather a separate case used as a legal precedent for how pilots involved in transporting minors for sexual exploitation could face federal charges.