As the 2021-22 school year winds down, a report notes that about 135 teachers and aides have been charged with child sex crimes across the country  -- just this year alone -- in a frightening trend that seems to be growing.

The charges range from possession of child pornography to outright rape, Fox News reported.

In fact, the analysis of the number of charges seen across 41 states was limited to cases that were reported by the media, so Fox noted the real number is likely even higher.

The preponderance of arrests were men, the analysis stated. And up to 76 percent of the crimes were alleged to have been committed directly against students.

The analysis included arrests of 117 teachers, 11 teachers' aides and seven substitute teachers.

Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for Parents Defending Education, told Fox that the whole issue needs to be looked at far more closely.

"Educator sexual abuse is a major problem that largely gets ignored because it's so uncomfortable to talk about," Sanzi said. "While a very small fraction of educators and school employees prey on the children in their care, one bad actor can do damage to many students."

"The last federally commissioned study on the issue was in 2004, pre-smartphone, and those who study the issue closely say that the problem has been exacerbated by the ease of communication that a smartphone provides," Sanzi continued. "We need to get much more honest about the problem, study it again and ensure that we have policies and laws in place that protect children. It is currently legal in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for teachers and other adults in positions of authority to have sexual relationships with students once they turn 14. After a 5-year effort, RI finally appears poised to change that this year."

Journalist Christopher Rufo added that it is abhorrent that the topic is mostly ignored by researchers and lawmakers.

"The public school system has a serious child sex abuse problem," he told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The last significant federal study on this topic, which was conducted by the Department of Education in 2004, suggested that millions of American schoolchildren are victims of teacher sexual misconduct in each generation of K-12 students -- and there hasn't been any significant research since then.

"This is a travesty," he continued. "Parents deserve to know exactly what's happening in the public school system and deserve to have tools for protecting their children from abuse. Congress should immediately fund a $25 million research program into child sexual abuse in public schools and provide complete transparency for parents. The first duty of public schools is to keep kids safe -- and, tragically, that's not happening in far too many cases."

Rufo recently posted about a woman who conducts transgender "therapy" on kids as young as four and who was proud to be permanently altering the lives of little kids.

"We are born with bodies. Our bodies are cool. We want to touch our bodies. We are learning about privacy and being sexual in public from a very early age." https://t.co/DULBAlZTJW

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 21, 2022

He also reported on an extremist, left-wing think tank that has been awarded $5 million in government contracts to groom kids for transgenderism in schools.

Here's my full report at City Journal: https://t.co/5GMqa0GxHk

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 21, 2022

Rufo also reported on the Philadelphia school district that is training teachers to teach kids about kinkiness, transgender sex and something labeled "banging beyond binaries."

The journalist added a series of videos and photos of materials depicting sex toys that formed part of the training that these teachers are receiving.

WARNING: The following tweet contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.

SCOOP: Last year, the School District of Philadelphia encouraged teachers to attend a transgender conference on “kink,” “BDSM,” “trans sex,” “bigger dick energy,” and “banging beyond binaries.”

I've obtained exclusive videos from the conference that will shock you. 🧵

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 17, 2022

Perhaps it is not surprising that a growing number of people who hope to sexually exploit children are flocking to teaching as a job in light of the growing number of school districts that are pushing educators into training about radical, left-wing, sexual perversions and treating it all as if it is "education."

Once you make education about radical and dangerous ideas that are far away from mainstream society, you will naturally attract people who hold those horrid ideas to your schools. And parents need to be aware that this stuff is not just happening in big-city schools. It is happening everywhere, even in the deepest of red states.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.