SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Duncan Canvin, the former mayor of Fort Simpson and a retired member of the RCMP, has been charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.

He is accused of having committed the offences while he was a Mountie, according to an RCMP press release issued earlier today.

The complainant was a "young person" at the time of the alleged offences and cannot be named, the RCMP added. Canvin is not being held in jail, but has been ordered to follow a number of conditions, including not to be in the company of anyone under 17 years of age.

He is scheduled to appear in territorial court in Fort Simpson on Dec. 7.