FAYETTEVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Fayette County Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to suspend former state Delegate and Oak Hill High School teacher Elliott Pritt without pay and terminate his employment amid criminal allegations involving a teenage student.
Board members voted to suspend Pritt without pay retroactive to June 22 and terminate his contract effective immediately.
The action comes weeks after Pritt, 36, was arrested and charged federally with coercion and enticement of a minor. Authorities began investigating after the family of a 15-year-old girl reported allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement on July 9.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Pritt allegedly began communicating with the girl through the online game Roblox while she was an eighth-grade student during the 2024-25 school year. Their conversations later moved to Snapchat and became increasingly personal, with investigators alleging Pritt told the girl he loved her by the end of her eighth-grade year.
Investigators allege that during the summer of 2025, Pritt began sending sexually explicit material to the girl and requesting explicit images from her. The complaint further alleges that after Pritt began teaching at Oak Hill High School, he initiated a physical sexual relationship with the student, with encounters allegedly occurring approximately five to 10 times inside his classroom between late 2025 and early 2026.
Pritt allegedly continued communicating with the girl afterward and, in June, asked her not to tell anyone about what had occurred, according to the complaint.
Pritt was removed from his leadership roles in the West Virginia House of Delegates following his arrest and later resigned from the Legislature. He also withdrew from the November ballot for House District 50. Pritt remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Tuesday’s action by the Fayette County Board of Education comes just one day after the Oak Hill City Council unanimously voted to remove a military recognition banner honoring Pritt from downtown Oak Hill.
The banner recognized Pritt’s service in the U.S. Air Force from 2008 to 2014. Its removal was requested following the allegations against Pritt, with the issue brought before Oak Hill City Council during its Monday evening meeting.
The school board’s vote Tuesday formally ends Pritt’s employment with Fayette County Schools as the criminal case against him continues.
