Pugh Police Report Reveals Sexually Explicit Texts To Teen
By Corey Williams, Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) - Sexually explicit text messages and a video were exchanged between former Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh and an 18-year-old who had been part of a school mentoring program that Pugh ran, according to a police report.
The report, released Tuesday by police in Madison Heights, details exchanges between Pugh's cellphone and the teen between the end of May and early June.
The teen also told investigators that he was in Pugh's car when Pugh placed a hand on his thigh after buying him clothing at a Madison Heights store, north of Detroit.
Police had sought a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge against Pugh based on the alleged touching, but Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper determined there was not enough evidence to take the case to court. Cooper said last week that no charges will be filed.
Cooper explained the decision behind not pressing charges, saying Tuesday: "We have to prove it occurred and was against his will. Why would he make those videos? Credibility is also going to be an issue here."
By the time the teen's family filed a police complaint against Pugh in late June, the popular councilman and former television news reporter had stopped attending council sessions. State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr denied Pugh's request for a medical-related leave of absence and stripped him of his pay and title as president.
Pugh, 42, officially resigned in September.
The Associated Press has been unable to reach Pugh since the start of the police investigation.
Detroit defense attorney Steve Fishman had been representing Pugh in the case and said Tuesday that he had no comment.
"I have no idea where he is. Have not talked to him for some time. Never saw the police report," Fishman said in an email.
An investigator wrote in the report released Tuesday that the suspect offered money and video games to the victim in exchange for a video of the victim.
"The suspect specifically requested that the victim be naked, and he preferred that the victim to be alone," the investigator wrote.
The teen, who was 17 when he initially met Pugh through the mentoring program at Frederick Douglass High School in Detroit, later provided a video of himself, according to the report.
"The suspect continuously pressured the victim for the video because he (the victim) wanted money and video games," according to the police report. "The suspect told the victim to delete text messages because if the texts were discovered, they could be very damaging to him."
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