Lawyer: Pugh wants to argue teen 'welcomed' sex help

If ex-Detroit City Councilman Charles Pugh gets his way, the jury in his upcoming civil trial is going to hear a controversial yet often-used argument in sexual harassment cases: His accuser wanted and "welcomed" the sexual conduct he is suing over — and was old enough to know what he was doing, new court documents show.

Pugh also wants to show jurors potentially embarrassing text messages that his accuser once sent to another person, including texts that begin with "I want to" — followed by a description of an intimate act, court documents show.

This is all part of Pugh's strategy to fight allegations that he pursued a teenage boy through a high school mentorship program and used his clout as a politician and former TV newsman to lure the student. His trial starts Nov. 3.

"The text messages are offered to show that Mr. Pugh's conduct was not extreme and outrageous," Pugh's lawyer, Marc Deldin, argued in documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Deldin wrote that Pugh should be allowed to argue that his actions were "welcomed" by the student for three reasons:

His accuser was 18 years old at the time this all happened.

Pugh was not the student's teacher.

The case does not involve sexual intercourse or other forms of sex.

The plaintiff, identified as K.S., tells a different story and is fighting to keep his text messages to others out of the trial, arguing they have nothing to do with Pugh or this case. But he does want the jury to see text messages between him and Pugh — texts that he believes bolster his claim that Pugh groomed him and tried to keep it secret.

Based on court documents filed thus far, the jury will hear allegations that Pugh helped K.S. find a job, offered to take him to buy clothes for a job interview, and took him on a shopping spree in Madison Heights in Pugh's black Lincoln Town Car.

The jury will also see text messages in which Pugh offered to perform oral sex with K.S. in exchange for money, records show. The next day, the teen's mother discovered the relationship, the lawsuit claims.

"Pugh made it clear to plaintiff that his career would be ruined if anyone found out about these bribes, and continuously told plaintiff to keep their conversations private," the lawsuit states.

While Pugh wants the jury to hear certain things about his accuser, he doesn't want jurors to hear anyone call him a pedophile at trial, court records show.

The plaintiff's lawyer has agreed not to use the word "pedophile" during trial, but says others who testify in the case shouldn't be prohibited from using it, such as other males who have come forward with claims that Pugh also sexually groomed them when they were in high school.

Pugh is accused of "aggressively" pursuing a boy through his mentoring program at Frederick Douglass Academy. Among the boy's claims is that Pugh once gave him $160 to make a video of himself performing a sexual act, and that he obliged.

Since the filing of the lawsuit, three Detroit School Board members have said that they expressed concerns to top DPS officials about Pugh's mentoring program, claiming he had "a reputation" for dating "underage boys." But their concerns were ignored and nothing was done, according to court records.

Pugh is fighting to keep that testimony out, too.The former broadcast journalist, who served as a weekend TV news anchor, was elected to City Council in 2009, serving as president. He mysteriously vanished from Detroit after allegations surfaced in 2013 involving his relationships with teenage boys and he later resigned his council seat.

Pugh has never been criminally charged.