SUDBURY, ON -- Provincial police allege an elderly man allowed children — including his own — to be used as prostitutes.

The man, now 76, faces 41 charges following a historical sexual assault investigation that stretches back more than 40 years.

Police released details of the case, which took a year to complete, on Wednesday.

The man, who has not been named by police out of respect for the victims, has been charged with:

- six counts of rape;
- three counts of incest;
- six counts of sexual interference on a female under 14 years of age;
- one count of buggery (the charges use the historical language from the early 1970s, when the alleged crimes occurred);
- one count of attempted buggery;
- five counts of indecent assault;
- eight counts of gross indecency;
- three counts of indecent assault on a male;
- five counts of defilement parent procuring; and
- three counts of defilement householder procuring.

Defilement refers to using someone for the purposes of prostitution. Defilement parent procuring means using one's own children for the purposes of prostitution.

Sexual interference refers to a person touching a child under the age of 14 for a sexual purpose.

Police did not say how many children are alleged to have been involved.

The man is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 9.