Former delegate Pritt indicted on charges related to child sexual exploitation
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CHARLESTON - A former teacher and member of the West Virginia House of Delegates has been indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts related to grooming and sexual activity with a minor.
Elliott Pritt, 36, of Oak Hill, is charged with sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a child, and tampering with a witness, victim or informant, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Moore Capito.
Pritt was arrested July 22 on the enticement charge and resigned from the House less than a week later. He was elected in 2022 as a Democrat representing Fayette County and changed his affiliation to Republican the following year.
Pritt was suspended by the Fayette County Board of Education and his employment terminated. Earlier this month, he withdrew his name from the November general election ballot.
According to the release, the indictment alleges that from around March 2024 to January of this year, Pritt coerced a minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct and from around June 2025 produced visual depictions of such conduct. The tampering charge stems from an allegation that in June of this year, Pritt attempted to intimidate or persuade the minor female to delay or prevent sharing information about the crime.
"With West Virginia's children returning to school this month, now is another opportunity for parents and caregivers to have those important conversations with their kids," Capito said in the release. "Our children need to know that they can safely report and talk about any situation that potentially involves grooming, inappropriate behavior, or abuse."
Capito commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger and U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.