Ex-delegate Pritt pleads not guilty to federal charges of alleged child sexual exploitation

Former Fayette County lawmaker Elliott Pritt pleaded not guilty to three federal charges in connection with an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship he forced with a minor girl. 

Pritt, 36, appeared in federal court in Charleston, West Virginia, on Monday morning. 

He was indicted on federal charges last week after federal prosecutors described how Pritt, a public school teacher, groomed an underage girl through online communication before beginning an inappropriate physical relationship with the minor.

In both the indictment and the criminal complaint, Pritt is accused of trying to intimidate the girl not to contact authorities. According to a criminal complaint, Pritt allegedly told her not to tell anyone because it would “open up hell in our lives” because it would be in the news. 

Pritt pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar Aboulhosn to sexual exploitation of children, coercion of a child under 18 for sex and intimidating a witness.

A trial is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Wesley Page, Pritt’s court-appointed attorney, said in court that Pritt would not challenge his continued detention. He has been held in a correctional facility in Kentucky. Pritt may seek a bond in the future if he is placed in a residential program overseen by the Veterans Administration since he is a veteran. 

Pritt resigned from the House of Delegates on July 27; he was first elected as a Democrat to the House in 2022 then switched to the Republican Party in 2023. He also removed himself from the ballot in Fayette County, where he was seeking reelection in the November election. 

An investigation began on July 9 after the family of a 15-year-old girl reported to local law enforcement that Pritt had allegedly sexually assaulted her, according to the criminal complaint. 

The complaint said that Pritt allegedly began communicating with the girl when she was in eighth grade in 2024 through the online game Roblox then later on Snapchat. Pritt later allegedly initiated a physical relationship with the minor and requested that she meet him in his classroom at Oak Hill High School to engage in sexual activity at least five to 10 times.

Pritt was arrested in Oak Hill, West Virginia, on July 22. 

State Schools Superintendent Michele Blatt suspended Pritt’s teacher certification as a result of the charge brought against him. Blatt said that if Pritt is ultimately convicted or pleads guilty to these charges, the state superintendent will permanently revoke his teaching certification.