Ex-Detroit councilman Charles Pugh gets parole in sex case with teen

DETROIT – The former president of the Detroit City Council has been granted parole about five years after his conviction for having sex with a teenage boy when he previously worked as a TV journalist.

Charles Pugh is expected to be released from prison sometime in December, according to Michigan’s Department of Corrections.

Pugh’s parole first was reported by Deadline Detroit. Dec. 22 is listed by the Corrections department as his earliest release date.

Pugh, 50, will have to register as a sex offender, spend two years on parole and be required to wear a GPS tether for at least six months.

He is being held at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia.

Pugh was sentenced in November 2016 to at least 5½ years in prison. He pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct. The teen was younger than 16 when they illegally engaged in sex acts in 2003 and 2004. At the time, Pugh worked for WJBK-TV.

Pugh was elected to the City Council in 2009 but suddenly quit in 2013 and mysteriously left Detroit as allegations surfaced about sexual misconduct.

Separately, a jury in 2015 ordered Pugh to pay $250,000 for sexually harassing a teen.

Previous coverage:

• Timeline of Charles Pugh’s criminal sexual conduct case
• The rise and fall of Charles Pugh
• Charles Pugh sentenced to 5 1/12 to 15 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct
• Ex-Detroit City Council president Charles Pugh bound over to trial
• Charles Pugh pleads guilty to 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct
• Attorney claims Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh ‘seduced’ teenager