Charles Pugh, the former Detroit City Council president and news anchor, remains in a Manhattan jail waiting to be extradited after he was arrested in Harlem by the U.S. Marshals over allegations that he sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in 2003.
Reports indicate the victim, who is now 27, says he met Pugh while he was a news anchor at Detroit’s Fox affiliate WJBK and eventually became Pugh’s assistant. He went to Pugh’s apartment several times, where he alleges the two had sexual contact multiple times.
The victim is one of several young men who claim Pugh had inappropriate contact with them. In 2012, a 17-year-old sued Pugh in civil suit over several sexually charged text messages in which Pugh asked the boy to send him sexual videos in exchange for cash. The two met in a boys’ leadership program Pugh ran in Detroit.
In that case, Pugh had to pay the teen $250,000. He abruptly left his position as president of Detroit’s City Council without notice and has been in Harlem since 2013.
Pugh currently faces six counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor and faces life in prison if he’s convicted. He will be extradited to Michigan July 7.
