After a sexual assault on the Frame Lake Trail near Gitzel Street on Oct. 8, the youth was charged with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible seizure and uttering death threats.

He now faces three similar charges for an earlier attack on Sept. 29. Charges in that incident were filed in mid-December. Further details of the incident were not released by police.

The youth is being held in custody at the River Ridge Youth Facility in Fort Smith pending trial.

After the Sept. 29 attack, Yellowknife RCMP did not alert the public by issuing a warning or press release. The second assault took place nine days later. Sgt. Al McCambridge said police did not alert the public because they "were still obtaining details at the time."

After the Oct. 8 assault, Yellowknifer asked McCambridge about rumours of an earlier attack. McCambridge did not tell Yellowknifer about the investigation.

When asked why on Thursday, McCambridge said: "The question was put to me, was there another sexual assault on the Frame Lake Trail? That's what I said 'No' to. We weren't attempting to mislead anyone."

Crown prosecutor Sandy Aitken has filed an application to have the youth tried in adult court.

A two-day hearing is tentatively scheduled for March 26 and 27.