A state delegate who is also a school teacher is being accused in federal court of seducing a 15-year-old girl.
Delegate Elliott Pritt, a Republican from Fayette County, was charged with enticement of a minor and made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley.
The Speaker of the House of Delegates removed Pritt from his official legislative roles immediately and called for Pritt to resign from his elected position right away: “What Elliott Pritt is accused of doing is shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way.”
Pritt, 36, has taught social studies and history in Fayette County schools.
Between May 2025 and this month, he is accused of enticing a 15-year-old girl to produce explicit images and to engage in sexual conduct.
The Fayette County school system, in a statement, said authorities are aware of the allegations against Pritt: “Because this is an active investigation, we are unable to provide additional comment at this time. Fayette County Schools will fully cooperate with law enforcement as the investigation progresses. The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority.”
Last month, investigators allege, Pritt sent messages to the girl warning her to not tell anyone what had happened between them or else “”the state police show up and take your phone and mine and open up hell in our lives. And because of me it would very much not be a low key. It would be in the news. It would be awful. For both of us. And I would lose my entire life.”
An affidavit filed by an investigator in the federal case indicates that the relationship began in 2024-25 when the girl was in the eighth grade and Pritt started communicating with her and at least one other female student outside of school.
The communication started on the online game Roblox and transitioned to Snapchat, according to the affidavit. It’s important to note that both operate over the internet or cellular networks, and the charge against Pritt is based on a law making it illegal to use any facility or means of interstate commerce like the internet or cellular networks to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
As the conversations over Snapchat continued, the investigator wrote, the conversations gradually became more personal, with each sharing their personal lives and problems with each other.
“By the end of her eighth-grade year, PRITT had told Minor Female that he loved her,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit.
Last summer, according to the investigator, Pritt sent a photograph of himself in pajama pants to the girl and started asking the girl to send him pictures of herself. At first, the pictures the girl sent were innocuous, but “at PRITT’s request and direction they became increasingly more explicit.”
The affidavit indicates that Pritt and the girl exchanged explicit videos during 2025 and 2026.
In late 2025, according to the affidavit, Pritt initiated physical encounters, asking her to meet him at his classroom at Oak Hill High School in Fayette County, where they would perform sex acts.
The last physical sexual encounter with Pritt and the girl occurred about December 2025 or January 2026, according to the affidavit, but the investigator wrote that Pritt continued to communicate with the girl on Snapchat until this month and continued too request that she send him sexually explicit photographs.
On July 9, the girl’s family reported Pritt to the police.
Pritt has served in the House of Delegates since 2022, initially elected as a Democrat. Pritt won that year after defeating an incumbent Republican, Austin Haynes, who had been accused of sexual harassment.
Pritt changed his party registration to Republican in 2023 and won election again. When Haynes filed to run again in 2024, Pritt posted on social media that the voters of Fayette County had made a “moral decision” in the last election.
“No one is perfect, but there are some mistakes and lapses in character and judgement that just cannot be overlooked or ‘go away,'” Pritt posted about Haynes.
Pritt’s post concluded, “I will keep working hard for the people I represent, and I will continue doing the right thing — even when it’s hard.”
Today, multiple political figures called for Pritt to resign.
“In America, we all enjoy the presumption of innocence, and Delegate Pritt is entitled to that same constitutional protection. Public officials and leaders are, and rightfully should be, held to a higher standard. When the people place their trust in elected officials by entrusting them with the right to hold public office, more than the minimum is expected,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.
“The West Virginia House of Delegates simply will not tolerate conduct that even approaches what is alleged in the public filings released by federal law enforcement today. Delegate Pritt deserves the right to defend himself freely and fully in a court of law, but the public and his colleagues deserve more. West Virginia is entitled to representation that is unclouded by serious allegations of criminal behavior involving the exploitation of vulnerable citizens.”
Hanshaw concluded, “I urge Elliott Pritt, for the benefit of his family and the people of his District, to spare his students and his colleagues at every level the continued embarrassments and distractions and to resign from elected office as soon as he is able.”
The West Virginia Republican Party also called for Pritt’s resignation.
“The allegations against Delegate Elliott Pritt are shocking, sickening, and deeply disturbing. While every person is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process under the law, charges involving the exploitation and abuse of children strikes at the core of the public trust. It is simply unconscionable,” said West Virginia GOP Chairman Josh Holstein, who is also a state delegate serving areas of Boone County.
“Public officials are held to the highest standard of conduct. Given the seriousness of these federal charges, Delegate Pritt should immediately resign from the West Virginia House of Delegates. The people of his district deserve representation that is beyond reproach, and these allegations make it impossible for him to effectively serve.
Delegate Mike Pushkin, who is also chairman of the state Democratic Party, wrote in a social media post that the allegations against Pritt are “beyond disturbing.”
“While Delegate Pritt is entitled to due process in the criminal justice system, he can no longer credibly serve the people of the 50th District while facing allegations of this magnitude. He should resign his seat immediately.”
Pushkin concluded, “No child should ever have to fear the very adults entrusted with their education and well-being. Protecting children must always come before protecting politicians.”
On the final night of this year’s regular legislative session, Pritt was among the lawmakers who fought most emotionally for a policy called Raylee’s Law, a proposal to place a hold on removing students from public schools if there is a pending child abuse or neglect investigation.
A crucial point of the policy proposal is that educators are legally required to report suspected child abuse and neglect.
When it became clear that time would run out before the policy reached passage, Pritt laid his head on his desk and cried.
Before that, Pritt had pleaded, “We have an opportunity here tonight to do something to protect children.”
