TRENTON – A registered sex offender and former student at Mercer County Community College tried to make several children under the age of 13 take showers in front of him after their on-campus swim class, according to documents read during a court hearing Wednesday.

Adam Woolf, 23, of Skillman, has been charged with lewdness, child endangerment and luring for the incident on the afternoon of Feb. 7 at the college's physical education building.

Woolf, who was enrolled in classes at the college at the time went up to children after their swim class in the building and told them he was a maintenance worker, according to a statement from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

He told several boys and girls that the chlorine in the pool would damage their swimsuits before he urged three of the boys to shower naked in front of him, according to the statement. Woolf also undressed and showered naked in front of the boys, according to prosecutors.

Two girls in the swim class said that Woolf followed them into the women's locker room and urged them to shower in front of him as well, the statement said.

Mercer County Community College security identified and confronted Woolf at the pool. College officials declined to comment on the incident. 

During a hearing Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw ordered that Woolf continue to be detained out of concern for the safety of the public.

Woolf is currently registered as a tier three sex offender as a result of an incident that happened when he was between the ages of 13 and 15. Prosecutors did not go into detail regarding the juvenile offense.

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Woolf's attorney, Jack Furlong, argued during the hearing that the Somerset man has serious developmental issues and that his parents keep a close watch over him, letting him go out on his own only to attend school.

Woolf's father, Andrew Woolf, also spoke about his son's disability during the hearing, saying that Adam Woolf is on two medications - one for ADHD and the other to stabilize his moods – and that he's been seeing two doctors.

Andrew Woolf discussed Wednesday how, after years of therapy, he had seen a recent improvement in his son. But as soon as the allegations came out last week, the family took the car keys away from Adam Woolf and withdrew him from the college, the father testified. Andrew Woolf even said that he blocked the garage with his truck so that his son was unable to leave.

"Obviously this is a very challenging and unfortunate situation for all involved.  Our goal right now is to protect the community and get Adam the treatment he needs consistent with the public interest," Furlong said in a statement after the hearing.

During his decision, Warshaw commended the Woolf family for their efforts to keep their son from committing another criminal offense.

"Andrew Woolf impresses the court with his good faith and clear love for his son," Warshaw said during the hearing.

But, he added, the safety of the public was paramount.

Adam Woolf was being held in Mercer County Correctional Center Wednesday afternoon and is expected to have another court appearance in March.

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman

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