Fayette County Delegate Charged With Enticing A Minor

Updated on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at 6:52 p.m. 

Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, announced Wednesday evening that “effective immediately, Delegate Pritt has been removed from all official roles connected with his service as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.” In a statement released via Ann Ali, Deputy Chief of Staff & Communications Director for the West Virginia House of Delegates, Hanshaw called on Del. Elliott Pritt to resign “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.”

 Hanshaw called the allegations against Pritt “shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way.”

“My heart aches for his family, and if any part of these serious allegations are true, the law should be applied in full force,” he said. “No child should ever be exploited by anyone, especially by the adults placed in positions of trust and charged with preparing young people, many of whom our statistics tell us unfortunately have no other caring adult figures in their lives.”

The speaker emphasized the presumption of innocence and maintained that Pritt is entitled to that constitutional protection and the right to defend himself in a court of law. But Hanshaw said that “public officials and leaders are, and rightfully should be, held to a higher standard” and that “West Virginia is entitled to representation that is unclouded by serious allegations of criminal behavior involving the exploitation of vulnerable citizens.”

“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,” Hanshaw said. “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.”

Original Story:

A criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of West Virginia Wednesday alleges that Del. David Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, had sexual contact with a female student under the age of 18. He is charged via criminal complaint of “enticement of a minor,” a violation of 18 U.S.C 2422(b), which carries a sentence of not less than 10 years to life imprisonment. 

Pritt, who is a teacher at Oak Hill High School, is accused of initiating contact via online platforms like Roblox and Snapchat when the student was in eighth grade. The affidavit from special agent Terrance Taylor of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security states Pritt coerced the student into sending him sexually explicit photographs before beginning a physical relationship last year. Taylor alleges Pritt also sent the student explicit images of himself. 

Taylor’s investigation is primarily based on a forensic interview of the student, but his affidavit also includes information obtained by law enforcement that shows the messages were from Pritt based on location data for the account that placed the user at Pritt’s residence, as well as the previous username for the account being “elliottpritt16” 

In a statement to West Virginia Public Broadcasting Ann Ali, Deputy Chief of Staff & Communications Director for the West Virginia House of Delegates said “While these are disturbing allegations and we all should be concerned about the welfare of this student, there is a presumption of innocence and a legal process that must be permitted to proceed; the Delegate remains a Delegate unless or until he resigns or the House as a body takes action to remove him from the seat to which he was elected.”  

Pritt had an initial appearance before a magistrate Wednesday, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled Monday, July 27 in Charleston.   

Read the full affidavit below: