BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – Sexual assaults reported to counselors or advocacy groups at the University of Vermont have more than quadrupled since 2002, but only one such case was reported to police during the year ended in June.

Campus police Chief Gary Margolis said much of the reporting is likely attributable to increased education and advocacy around the issue of sexual violence.

Federal law requires colleges and universities to maintain statistics on campus crimes, and the figures kept by UVM police include anonymous reports of sexual assaults made to mental health counselors and groups such as the Rape Crisis Center, Margolis said.

Such reports jumped from 16 in fiscal year 2002 to 16 in 2006 and 36 in fiscal 2007.

In the majority of the cases, the attacker is someone the victim knows, the chief said.

During the year since last October’s rape and killing of 21-year-old UVM student Michelle Gardner-Quinn, “Victims’ advocacy programs on campus have really flourished,” Margolis said. He added that may explain some of the increase in reporting of sexual assaults.

“The better we do promoting education, awareness and advocacy,” he said, “the more reports come in,” the chief said.

“Statistically speaking, UVM remains a relatively safe place to live and go to school,” he said.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

AP-ES-10-07-07 1243EDT