In recent months, sex crimes — and the anxiety they produce — have filled the news. Listening to the hype, it may seem that sex crimes are on the rise and that the typical scenario involves strange men waiting in the shadows to assault children they've never met.

And while the above scenario is not unheard of, the most typical sex criminals are not strangers but family, friends or acquaintances. Also, though the majority of offenders are adults, at least one-third of those nationally, and in the Twin States, who target children age 12 and under are juveniles. And while most offenders are male, many who victimize young children are female.

In many ways, the available statistics (click here to read more about them) on sex crimes contradict — or at least complicate — popular perceptions:

Perception: Sexual assault is on the rise (see top graphic).

Facts: Overall rates of sexual abuse — defined broadly as unwanted touching, from fondling to rape — have fallen steadily during the past decade.

One notable exception: Rape reports to New Hampshire police have been rising (although experts say that may be due, at least in part, to increased reporting by police agencies). And after years of decline, rape reports in Vermont recently began to rise again. Nonetheless, rates in both states remain far below the national rate.

In the last decade, the number of Americans age 12 and older who report being victims of rape or sexual assault has declined by about 35 percent, according to an annual U.S. Department of Justice survey.

Nationwide, sexual abuse of children and teens confirmed by state social service agencies also dropped by almost 45 percent between 1995 and 2003, the last year for which national records are available, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reports of sexual abuse to Vermont and New Hampshire social service agencies have declined by more than 22 percent and 48 percent, respectively, over the last decade.

Across the nation, police departments received 10 percent fewer reports of rape for every 100,000 people in 2004 than in 1997, the year in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation began a new data collection program.

The rate of rapes reported to Vermont law enforcement authorities has dropped by about 25 percent over the same period — although the rape rate climbed in 2004, the last year for which figures are available.

The rate of rape cases reported by New Hampshire police has increased by 35 percent since 1997. However, at least some of the increase likely does not reflect an actual increase in rapes but, rather, increased participation by local police departments in the reporting program, said Karen Lamb, supervisor of the New Hampshire State Police Uniform Crime Reporting Unit.