A convicted child molester was arrested Thursday after he fought Effingham County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were making a routine check on him.

Gary Wigley, 49, of Bloomingdale was jailed on several charges, including felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

A deputy with the ECSO’s Sex Offender Registry Unit went to Wigley’s home on Horseshoe Road for a random check to make sure he was complying with the Georgia Sex Offender Registry law. Wigley is a registered sex offender from a conviction for child molestation and felony cruelty to children.

Wigley became irate, threatened the deputy and fled into a wooded area, according to ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor.

“We don’t know why,” Ehsanipoor said. “There was no reason for him to act like that.”

After the deputy called for back-up, other deputies arrived and found Wigley in the woods. Wigley then became violent, according to Ehsanipoor.

“Wigley attacked one of the deputies, and it turned into a violent struggle,” he said. ”He charged the deputy. He was not just resisting but being the aggressor.”

Deputies subdued Wigley and took him into custody, Ehsanipoor said.

He was taken to the hospital for treatment and then to Effingham County Jail, where he is being held without bond.