NJ millionaire jailed for sex with underage girl on private airplane sued by victim – My Central Jersey
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BEDMINSTER – A former township man, now serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison, is being sued by his teenage victim, alleging he subjected her to sexual abuse over five months while she was between 15 and 16 years old.
Stephen Bradley Mell, 53, is serving his sentence in the Allenwood (Pennsylvania) Penitentiary, on federal charges of engaging in interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct and receiving child pornography.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Essex County Superior Court, the victim, now 18 and identified only by her initials, details the relationship between June and November 2017 with Mell, who lived on an estate on Black River Road.
The teen says in the lawsuit that as a result of the relationship she has “suffered permanent, severe and continuing injuries, including, but not limited to academic and employment impairments, depression, low self-esteem and confidence, suicidal tendencies, physical and psychological trauma, pain and suffering, severe mental anguish, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, emotional distress, marital inability to function normally in social situations, especially in relationships with men, fear of physical contact, inability to trust others, difficulty forming meaningful relationships, fears of intimacy and sexual contact, nightmares, debilitating terror, post-traumatic stress disorder, humiliation, anxiety, embarrassment and psychological denial, repression, accommodation and disassociation.”
EARLIER: NJ millionaire sentenced to 7 years for sex with teen on private airplane, child porn
The lawsuit, filed by Roseland attorneys Bruce Nagel and Diane Sammons, says that the teen is undergoing psychological and psychiatric care, including medication.
The lawsuit also alleges that Mell and his wife, Kimberly Ruggles, upon learning the teen was contemplating filing a civil suit in December 2017, sold assets, including their estate and aircraft, so to hinder the teen from receiving compensation that she may be awarded in the civil action.
According to the May 8, 2018 federal complaint which graphically details the charges, Mell began communicating with the 15-year-old through text messages and SnapChat in 2017.
The communication between Mell and the minor soon became sexual when Mell asked the girl “if she knew how to perform oral sex.” He later invited her to spend time alone with him at his Bedminster home.
On July 5, 2017, he again performed sex acts on the minor, according to the complaint. One day later, he purchased an emergency contraceptive pill for her.
EARLIER: Stephen Mell sentenced to 3 years in prison for sex with minor in Readington, Bedminster
On July 20, 2017, Mell flew with her in his private plane from Somerset Airport to Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod “for the purpose of engaging in illicit conduct, specifically, a sexual act with a person under the age of eighteen.”
On the flight back, Mell put the aircraft in autopilot mode and engaged in sex acts, the complaint says.
The next day, Mell performed sex acts on the minor in Hunterdon County, according to the complaint.
Throughout August 2017, Mell asked the girl to send him text messages, SnapChat photos or FaceTime video chats of images of the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Known by many as Brad, Mell was an active community member, serving on the board of the Far Hills Day School and volunteering in numerous charities, including the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
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