A Republican state legislator and high school teacher has been arrested and charged with enticing a minor he met on the online game Roblox, according to a criminal complaint.
Elliot Pritt, 36, has been accused of sexually abusing a girl, now aged 15, on school grounds and coaxing her into exchanging nude photos with him after befriending her online. The married father-of-four is an assistant majority leader in West Virginia’s House of Delegates who represents the state’s 50th District in Fayette County.
An affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia by a Homeland Security Investigations special agent alleges Pritt began engaging messages with the victim on Roblox in 2024 when she was in the eighth grade.
He later moved the conversation to Snapchat where his exchanges “gradually became more personal”, it is claimed.
The affidavit claims Pritt went on to tell the girl he loved her and sent an explicit picture of himself in summer 2025, encouraging her to respond in kind.
Later that year, the delegate allegedly commenced a physical relationship with the girl, beginning with an invitation to visit him at his classroom at Oak Hill High School in Fayette County, where he taught social studies.
They met on several further occasions until January 2026, the affidavit states, after which Pritt continued to message her and at one stage warned her not to tell anyone about what had transpired between them.
The victim claims he told her that: “The state police [will] 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 low key. It would be in the news. It would be awful. For both of us. And I would lose my entire life.”
The girl’s family reported the alleged sexual abuse to law enforcement on July 9, leading to Pritt’s eventual arrest. He is currently being held at the Carter County Detention Center and is set to appear in federal court on July 27.
The lawmaker served in the U.S. Air Force before becoming a teacher and was elected to the House of Delegates in 2022, originally as a Democrat, before switching sides in 2023.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, also a Republican, has since called on Pritt to step down.
“What Elliott Pritt is accused of doing is shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way,” Hanshaw said.
“My heart aches for his family, and if any part of these serious allegations are true, the law should be applied in full force.
“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.
“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.”
“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.”
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Josh Holstein, who also serves in the House, added: “The allegations against Del. 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.”
Fayette County Schools acknowledged the charges against Pritt in a statement Wednesday, saying it would “fully cooperate with law enforcement as the investigation progresses” and reiterating that the wellbeing of its students and staff was its “highest priority.”
The Independent has reached out to Pritt for comment.
