Putnam County Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Offense

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Putnam County man pleaded guilty today to attempted sex trafficking of a minor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, James Michael Pritt, 40, of Buffalo, admitted to contacting another man online and arranging to pay him $150 in exchange for the man providing him with a 14-year-old girl for sexual intercourse. When Pritt arrived at the meeting location in South Charleston, he was placed under arrest.

Pritt is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2022, and faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement. The FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Andrew Isabell are prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-200.

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