radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for August 26, 2026

Good morning.Former West Virginia lawmaker and schoolteacher Elliott Pritt has pleaded not guilty to federal charges involving a fifteen-year-old girl. Federal prosecutors charge Pritt with sexual exploitation of children, coercion of a minor, and witness intimidation, alleging he groomed the teenager into an improper relationship. Pritt, who has resigned from the House of Delegates and was fired from his teaching position, is set to go on trial on October fifth.West Virginia University Police are issuing a statewide campus safety warning following a sudden surge in "sextortion" scams targeting students during the opening week of the fall semester. Campus officers report receiving multiple extortion complaints where scammers threaten to release private photos unless victims send money. Authorities advise students never to share compromising images and to contact police immediately if targeted.In major state legal news, former Marshall University basketball player Kai Spears has won a nine-million-dollar defamation verdict against the New York Times. A federal jury ruled in favor of Spears after determining the newspaper falsely linked him to a 2023 murder in Tuscaloosa, Alabama based on a single unverified source.In the Northern Panhandle, former Wheeling Middle School principal Richard McCardle has pleaded no contest to a child abuse charge following an investigation into a physical altercation on school grounds. Authorities say McCardle grabbed an eighth-grade student by the neck and threw him to the ground. A judge sentenced McCardle to twelve months of probation.Meanwhile, volunteers and specialized dive teams recently gathered along the Ohio River in Hancock County to search for Karen Adams, who mysteriously disappeared in 2011 near the Mountaineer Casino. Search-and-recovery team Chaos Divers utilized sonar equipment and boats to check submerged vehicles in hopes of bringing long-awaited answers to her family.And inspiring news for a West Virginia hero: National Guard Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe is preparing for a major cranioplasty surgery using a custom three-D printed implant to replace part of his skull. Wolfe was shot while patrolling in Washington, D.C., and his family reports he will serve as Grand Marshal at this year's Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival parade.For more news, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.