After Charles Pugh's release, friend Reggie Reg reveals plan 'to share his story'

FOX 2 - Five and a half years ago Charles Pugh - a former Detroit City Council president and former FOX 2 anchor, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy. On Wednesday he’ll be released from prison in Ionia.

The release of Charles Pugh comes with some conditions. He’ll be on probation for two years, wear a tether for six months and will be on the sex offender registry forever. 

Former Detroit radio legend Reggie Reg Davis has known Pugh since high school and has another distinction when it comes to his friend - saying he was the only person to visit him the last five-plus years.

Davis says during his visits he noticed a change in Pugh for the better. The two made plans for the future, including launching an online network on the internet. 

"Charles will do a tell-all," Davis said. "That's the way you guys can capture everything he experienced in those five and a half years."

The online venture is expected to launch sometime around February, Davis said. In addition to launching a new network, Pugh is also reportedly working on a book, he added.

"Charles had a very promising career in broadcast, television, radio, politics, but then to learn that he used his position to exploit youth, young people, is very unfortunate," said Karen Dumas, a communications consultant.

Dumas served as the chief of communications for Detroit while Pugh served on the council and says while she respects the court’s decision, she puts his crime in a different category.

"I can only hope that in addition to incarceration he received some kind of counseling," she said. "It’s an illness to be sexually attracted to a child of any gender."

Davis says that he and Pugh hopes to help others in Detroit through his experiences.

"We need to come together and stand strong with our families."

Some are leery that Pugh will be able to earn back the trust he may have lost in Detroit.

"Pedophilia is a very serious crime to me - morally, legally," Dumas said. "I’m not sure there is redemption. Certainly, he has an opportunity and a right to live the rest of his life."

Dumas says the lesson to learn from Charles Pugh is for those who witness the abuse of a child, to speak up.

"We always talk about protecting our young people," she said. "It goes beyond putting up metal detectors and those things. This is part of protecting our young people too."

Davis says Pugh should be considered a man who has paid his debt.