Republican Called to Resign After ‘Disturbing’ Charge

A Republican state lawmaker in West Virginia is under mounting pressure to resign after federal authorities accused him of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl at the same high school where he worked as a teacher.

David Elliott Pritt, a 36-year-old married father of four and member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, was charged Wednesday with enticement of a minor after the girl’s family reported the alleged abuse, according to a federal criminal complaint cited by Newsweek.

The allegations are deeply disturbing. Investigators say Pritt, who also worked as an English teacher at Oak Hill High School in Fayette County, allegedly engaged in sexual acts with the teenager on school property.

The case has now sparked furious calls for the Republican delegate to step down immediately, with critics arguing that an elected official accused of exploiting a child cannot continue serving in public office while the criminal case unfolds.

According to the complaint, Pritt allegedly began communicating with the girl in 2024, when she was still in eighth grade. Authorities say the conversations took place through Roblox and Snapchat before the relationship allegedly escalated.

By the end of the school year, Pritt allegedly told the girl that he loved her, the complaint states.

The allegations have sent shockwaves through West Virginia politics, not only because Pritt was an elected official, but because he was also in a position of trust as a teacher. The case has raised urgent questions about how a public servant and school employee could allegedly gain access to a minor in such a way.

Pritt’s arrest has quickly become a political scandal for West Virginia Republicans, who are now facing pressure to distance themselves from the embattled lawmaker. Democrats and other critics are expected to seize on the case as another example of the need for stronger accountability when elected officials are accused of abusing power.

Newsweek reported that it reached out to Pritt’s public defender for comment Friday.

Pritt is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Still, the demand from critics is clear: they do not believe he should remain in office while facing such a serious child sex abuse charge.

The charge alone has turned Pritt from a little-known state delegate into the center of a grim and explosive controversy — one involving a child, a classroom, and an elected Republican now fighting for both his political future and his freedom.