{"success":true,"data":{"id":"e7e69df4-aaa9-4e50-9572-390ececcebd7","title":"State legislator arrested on sex abuse charges with minor: Feds","summary":"Interest Successfully Added We'll notify you here with news about Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? - [x] Off On West Virginia state lawmaker arrested on sex abuse charges with minor: Feds The West Virginia House speaker called on Del. David Elliott Pritt to resign.","content":"Interest Successfully Added\n\nWe'll notify you here with news about\n\nTurn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? \n\n- [x] Off On \n\n# West Virginia state lawmaker arrested on sex abuse charges with minor: Feds\n\nThe West Virginia House speaker called on Del. David Elliott Pritt to resign.\n\nBy[Ivan Pereira](https://abcnews.com/author/ivan_pereira)\n\nJuly 23, 2026, 6:14 PM\n\n1:29\n\nHeadlines from ABC News Live Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.\n\nA West Virginia state delegate was arrested and charged with sex assault Wednesday after federal investigators said he allegedly used social media platforms to entice and sexually engage with a teenage student at the school he taught, according to a federal complaint.\n\nRepublican Del. David Elliott Pritt, 36, who was the assistant majority leader, was charged with coercion and enticement of a minor and sexual assault in the third degree following a two-week-long investigation by Homeland Security, according to the criminal complaint. U.S. Marshals took him into custody, the complaint said.\n\nThe 15-year-old victim's family contacted law enforcement on July 9 and investigators soon discovered the alleged interactions between the girl and Pritt, who had a second job as a teacher, the criminal complaint said.\n\nDavid Pritt is seen in this undated photo.\n\nWest Virginia Legistlature\n\nPritt, a married father of four according to [his bio](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/house/lawmaker.cfm?member=Delegate%20Pritt) on the West Virginia Legislature site, allegedly began communicating with the victim between late 2024 and early 2025. He messaged first through the online game Roblox and then through Snapchat when the alleged victim was an eighth-grade student at the middle school where Pritt taught, the criminal complaint said.\n\nThe delegate's Snapchat conversations allegedly became more \"personal\" with the teen as the school year went on, according to investigators.\n\n\"By the end of her eighth-grade year, Pritt had told [the victim] that he loved her,\" the criminal complaint alleged.\n\nDuring the summer of 2025, Pritt had allegedly begun sending sexually explicit videos and photos of himself to the victim and asked the minor to do the same, according to investigators.\n\nPritt began teaching at a West Virginia high school starting in the fall of 2025 and he allegedly asked the victim to come to the school and perform sexual acts, the criminal complaint alleged.\n\nThe victim allegedly engaged in the sexual activity in his classroom on \"approximately five to 10 occasions,\" until January, the complaint alleged.\n\nPritt continued to allegedly communicate with the alleged victim on Snapchat until July, the complaint said. At one point in June, Pritt allegedly asked the minor not to tell anyone about their encounters, according to investigators.\n\nHe allegedly told the victim, \"the state police show up and take your phone and mine and open up hell in our lives,\" the criminal complaint said, adding that Pritt allegedly told the victim, \"I would lose my entire life.\"\n\nDavid Pritt is seen in this undated police handout.\n\nCarter County Detention Center\n\nPritt, who was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2022 and is up for re-election this fall, is being held in jail, according to court documents. Attorney information was not immediately available.\n\n## Popular Reads\n\nRepresentatives for Roblox and Snapchat did not immediately return messages to ABC News for comment on the investigation.\n\nWest Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw [released a statement](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/News_release/pressrelease.cfm?release=4228) Wednesday after Pritt's arrest and called on the delegate to resign from office.\n\n\"What Elliott Pritt is accused of doing is shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way. My heart aches for this family, and if any part of these serious allegations are true, the law should be applied in full force,\" Hanshaw said.\n\nThe speaker added that Pritt was removed \"from all official roles connected with his service\" as a member of the legislature.\n\n\"Delegate Pritt deserves the right to defend himself freely and fully in a court of law, but the public and his colleagues deserve more,\" he said.\n\nFayette County Schools, which oversees the schools Pritt taught in, told ABC affiliate [WCHS](https://wchstv.com/news/local/west-virginia-delegate-charged-in-probe-of-sexual-conduct-with-a-minor) Wednesday that it is cooperating with the investigation.\n\n\"The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority,\" it told the station.\n\n## Sponsored Content by Taboola\n\n[](https://www.creditkarma.com/events/redirect)[Boost Your Total Credit Limit with a New Card Intuit Credit Karma / [Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=abcnews-abcnews&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=thumbnails-a-01:Below%20Article%20Thumbnails%20|%20Card%201:)[Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=abcnews-abcnews&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=thumbnails-a-01:Below%20Article%20Thumbnails%20|%20Card%201:) Learn More](https://www.creditkarma.com/events/redirect \"Boost Your Total Credit Limit with a New Card\")","source_name":"ABC News","source_url":"https://abcnews.com/US/west-virginia-state-lawmaker-arrested-sex-abuse-charges/story?id=135018608","url":"https://abcnews.com/US/west-virginia-state-lawmaker-arrested-sex-abuse-charges/story?id=135018608","author":"Unknown Author","author_name":"Unknown Author","published_at":"2026-07-23T18:14:12.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-23T18:14:12.000Z","image_url":"https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/c31c2cdb-bf59-4b1f-a0de-3acb15acdd21/david-pritt-1-ht-jef-260723_1784818571891_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=992","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":4,"word_count":718,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}