A 17-year-old Whitehorse resident who pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assaulting girls as young as seven will have to wait a little longer to be sentenced.

The youth, who cannot be identified under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in court last week. He had been scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John Faulkner last Thursday afternoon.

That was postponed when questions were raised over whether the court has the authority to force a young offender into specialized care outside the territory.

In November 2011, the 17-year-old, who has no previous criminal record, approached a seven-year-old girl playing outside her house, according to an agreed statement of facts filed in the case.

He convinced her to follow him down a nearby trail and into a wooded area. He took off her coat and pulled down her pants and underwear.

"The accused cannot recall touching (the girl) between her legs using her hands, but accepts that he did so,” the statement says.

The young girl attempted to run but was caught by the teen. He told her not to tell anyone what had happened, but she ran home and told her parents, who phoned the police. The teen was arrested.

In June 2012, after the first charges were laid, two girls at a camp for girls between the ages of nine and 13 confided in a counsellor that they had also been sexually assaulted by the accused, in two separate incidences years earlier.

These girls are currently in Grades 4 and 5, prosecutor Ludovic Gouaillier told the court.

According to the same agreed statement of fact, sometime in 2009, one of the young girls was watching TV in a basement when the accused came over and pulled her onto his lap.

He told the young girl to take her shirt off, but she refused. Instead, he began taking off his own shirt.

The girl's father came downstairs and the accused stopped.

The second assault disclosed at the camp happened sometime between May and August 2011, the court documents say.

In this case, the accused called two young girls over to his house. He managed to separate the two friends, locking one of the girls outside.

Inside the house, he grabbed the other girl, pulled her over to the couch and tried to remove her pants.

She grabbed onto her pants, yelling and crying for help while her friend outside kicked at the door.

The accused let her go after she promised not to tell anyone what had happened.

The Crown is asking the judge to sentence the teen to a period of deferred custody, followed by lengthy probation.

Gouaillier argued that this sentence is appropriate because the incidents did not involve penetration, the accused has no criminal record and he saved his victims the stress of having to testify at a trial.

He asked the judge to order the teen to attend the Phoenix Program, a Calgary-based program specifically designed to address sexual behaviours.

Defence lawyer Kim Hawkins argued that probation alone would be sufficient.

She said her client is willing to accept any treatment available in Whitehorse, but does not consent to being sent Outside, away from his family.

A program similar to the one in Calgary used to exist at Whitehorse's youth detention centre, but is not currently running, the court heard.

Unlike with adult court, the Youth Criminal Justice Act is silent on whether consent is required for this type of treatment, the lawyers said.

Faulkner said he would like to hear from both lawyers regarding the issues of consent before he makes his decision.

The case will be back in court later this week.