Charles Pugh Won't Attend Own Civil Trial In Teen Sex Grooming Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Former Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh plans to skip his own civil trial in a teen sex grooming case.

The Detroit Free Press reports a nearly all-white jury of five men and five women was seated during jury selection is scheduled Tuesday in federal court in Detroit.

The case centers on a relationship a few years ago between Pugh and a young man he mentored. Pugh and the Detroit school district are being sued by the former student who says his civil rights were violated.

Pugh doesn't plan to attend the trial, but the Freep reports U.S. District Judge David Lawson ruled that the plaintiff can hold Pugh's absence against him.

"Pugh's voluntary absence from trial — thereby depriving the jury of one of the tools it might have used to assess his credibility — is relevant to the issues in this case," Lawson wrote in a court order Monday.

The jury will hear Pugh's side through videotaped testimony.

[Court Documents: Charles Pugh Watched Porn With Teen, Made Sexual Advances]

The lawsuit claims Pugh was given extraordinary access to boys whom he met at Fredrick Douglass Academy in 2012 and that the school didn't do enough to protect the kids. The former student said Pugh was grooming him for sex, with explicit text messages obtained by police expected to be presented as evidence.

Among those called to testify may be a young man who claims Pugh made sexual advances toward him and watched gay porn in his presence as he worked for an intern for him a few years ago.

Pugh, who denies any wrongdoing, resigned from the Detroit City Council in 2013. Months later, a TV reporter found him living in New York City where he worked at a restaurant.

Opening statements in the case were scheduled to begin later Tuesday.

Pugh has not been charged with a crime.

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.