Charles Pugh Bound Over For Trial; Judge Says He Turned Teen Victim Into 'Sex Slave'

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Charles Pugh has been bound over for trial on five counts of criminal sexual conduct after a judge says he turned a teenage boy he was mentoring into a "sex slave."

In graphic, sometimes disturbing testimony Friday, the former Detroit City Council President's alleged victim said he was 14 years old when he walked up to the then news anchor after a youth theater performance in the FOX 2 studios and told him he was a big fan.

He asked about internship opportunities, and Pugh handed over a business card with his cell number on the back. Eventually, Pugh came to pick up him at home, met his mother, and asked her for permission to hire the young man, he testified. "I was excited, I had an opportunity to do something different ... something to put on my resume to help get me into school," the alleged victim told the court.

That kicked off a relationship between the then 14-year-old and the former Detroit power player. It ended up involving sex tapes, meals at swanky Detroit establishments, a cameo appearance by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and full-on sex between the teen and Pugh, the victim testified Friday during a hearing to determine if the case against Pugh moves forward.

Watch the testimony here:

The sexual overtures began early in his job, the now 27-year-old man testified. At one point, he ended up in Pugh's car in his role as assistant to the then-newsman on an assignment and said the older man touched his thigh. "He was talking about, I did a good job ..." the alleged victim said. On the way home from the assignment, he said Pugh repeatedly touched his leg.

On another assignment to pick out furniture at Art Van, the then-teen said Pugh took him back to his two-bedroom apartment, where he turned on a video that depicted a man masturbating. The young man became aroused, and said Pugh offered to "take care of that." They ended up masturbating together, he testified, adding that an elated Pugh asked him not to tell anyone.

"At that point he pops up off the floor, laughing...and he runs to the bathroom to get a warm towel for us to clean up with," he testified.

What was Pugh's demeanor following the encounter?

"He looked at me lovingly ... like he was in awe, like really infatuated (with me)," the young man said.

The alleged victim described another incident that he said happened after a concert to which he accompanied Pugh. The youth said Pugh popped in a homemade sex tape back at his apartment. It depicted himself dancing on a bed, then having sex with another man. Pugh allegedly then asked the teen if he wanted to do what he had seen on the video. The young man consented, and he testified that they had sex.

"I was disillusioned from him being a great guy ... He was still somebody that I wanted to learn from," the young man testified, saying he had idolized Pugh as a black, gay man who had made something of himself.

He added he didn't tell anyone because he and his mother were already at odds over homosexuality.

They had sex other times, including once after a meeting attended by former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and on a night following a swanky meal at Small Plates in Detroit, the alleged victim testified.

The two allegedly had sex for the last time in 2005, when Pugh picked him up after school, the victim testified. "I asked him 'Is this what you do? Do you like to have sex with younger people? Do you have sex with your roommate?'" the victim said. He said Pugh told him he was special, and that he "doesn't do this at all."

"After this, I didn't hear from him, our communication stopped," the victim testified. He was 16 years old at that point.

Pugh, 45, faced six counts of criminal sexual conduct, but one of those counts was dropped because of victim was older at that point.

Wayne County Judge Deborah Langston agreed to lower Pugh's bond to from $500,000 to $150,000 on the condition that, if released, he turn in his passport and driver's license and wear a tether.

In announcing her decision, Langston said it appears Pugh prayed upon the student who had just wanted something to put on his resume.

"He was hoping to either become an intern with Fox 2, or an intern with Charles Pugh — but instead he became his unofficial gopher and sex slave, basically," the judge said.

If convicted as charged, Pugh faces up to life in prison.

The charges are unrelated to another sexual grooming case involving a 17-year-old who sued and collected $250,000 from Pugh. The young man said Pugh made sexual advances while serving as a mentor at Douglass Academy in 2012. The lawsuit claimed Pugh was given extraordinary access to boys, and that the school didn't do enough to protect students. The Detroit school district settled for $350,000.

Pugh was not charged criminally in that case. He abruptly quit city government in 2013 and moved to New York when allegations surfaced, later saying he was embarrassed.

He was extradited back to Detroit last month to face charges in this case.