High-risk sex offender seen in Carson church

A high-risk sex offender living in Mound House was asked to leave a Carson City church where children were present on Sunday, police said.

An off-duty Storey County deputy attending Capital Christian Center at 1600 Snyder Avenue spotted Robert Lee Wurgaft in the church restroom around 11:30 a.m., according to Carson City Sheriff's Sgt. Bob White.

Brenda Simpson, executive director of the church, said staffers called police and asked Wurgaft to leave, warning him not to return, or he'd be charged with trespassing. She said he didn't offer an reason as to why he was at the church.

"All of our security measures came into play, and nothing happened," she said.

Wurgaft, 73, who spent nearly 20 years in a California prison, is classified as a Tier 3 sex offender, meaning he is at high risk of reoffending.

White said the first contact in Carson City with Wurgaft was about two weeks ago when he tried to register as a sex offender and use his van in the parking lot of Denny's as his address.

He is currently living on Cowee Drive.

Wurgaft was convicted on Oct. 3, 1985, for 40 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years, four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, 24 counts of child molestation and one count of sexual exploitation of a child, said Lyon County Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Page. The victims were both male and female, but he usually preyed on girls 11 years of age or younger, he said.

According to Nevada law, a law enforcement agency where a Tier 3 offender resides must notify not only other law enforcement agencies, schools and youth organizations, but also the general public "through means designed to reach members of the public likely to encounter the sex offender."

Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.