Pugh arrested at home in NYC on sex crime charges

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Former Detroit city council president Chares Pugh is arrested in Harlem on Thursday. Image via Mario Diaz/Twitter, used with persmission from WPIX.

Former Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh was arrested without incident in his New York City home, FOX 2 has learned. Pugh has been charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct in a case that dates back to 2003.

Authorities say Pugh met a 14-year-old when he was a weekend morning anchor at FOX 2. Pugh was 32 years old at the time.

The student appeared as a guest with Detroit's Mosaic Youth Theatre, a group that often appeared on the weekend show. From there, Pugh is alleged to have developed a relationship with the teen.

We're told the teen asked Pugh about an internship at the station, and that they exchanged phone numbers. The teen did not work as an intern, but during the summer of 2003 the teen was invited to Pugh's Detroit home several times. Pugh is alleged to have had inappropriate sexual contact with the complainant from September 2003 through May 2004. The complainant was 14 and 15 years of age at the time of the alleged contact.

FOX 2 is told the teen, who is now 27 years old, came forward shortly after learning of a civil case involving a former student Pugh mentored at Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit. The complainant in that case was 17 at the time. Pugh was ordered to pay that man $250,000 after a jury trial in that case.

According to charging documents, Pugh is facing three charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 2 for updates.