BOISE, Idaho -- Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Governor Dirk Kempthorne delivered to the Idaho Legislature on Jan. 20, the 16th annual report on the prosecution of child sexual abuse.

The report is prepared and submitted to the legislature each year pursuant to Idaho Code § 67-. The report was prepared under the direction of Dr. Robert Marsh of the Department of Criminal Justice Administration at Boise State University.

The report covers cases of child sexual abuse in which criminal charges were filed in Idaho courts. The report for Fiscal Year covers cases filed between July 1, and June 30, . It includes statistical data on victims and offenders, disposition of cases and sentencing practices. The report does not include data or estimates on unreported child sexual abuse or reported cases that do not result in criminal prosecution.

"This report again underscores a point for parents to consider and a point that has been consistent in all of the previous reports," Wasden said. "In the majority of cases, it appears that the abuser is not a stranger lurking in the shadows, but a person known and trusted by the victim and the victim's family. In fact, in those cases in which the researchers could determine the relationship of the victim to the adult abuser, less than 6 percent of those prosecuted were strangers to the victim."

"We must never forget that our ultimate goal is to eradicate the causes and vestiges of child sex abuse," Kempthorne said. "While these latest numbers offer some encouragement, we must be ever vigilant in assessing our tools to prosecute and punish those responsible while at the same time identifying and preventing these tragedies from occurring."

Here are some of the key findings of the report:

-- 255 cases were filed against adult defendants, a decline of 37 cases from the previous year.

-- 116 cases were filed against juvenile defendants, a decline of 51 cases from the previous year.

-- 47 percent of the victims of adult defendants were between 12 and 15 years old, 27% were 11 years old or younger.

-- 72 percent of the victims of juvenile defendants were 11 years old or younger.

-- 51 percent of the adult defendants were acquaintances of their victims, 7 percent were natural parents, 5 percent were stepparents, and 4 percent were other relatives.

-- Less than 6 percent of the adult defendants were strangers to their victims.