Only 1 out of 4 child abuse suspects is charged, as reports of the crime rise, a lawmaker’s report showed Thursday.

According to Rep. Lee Sang-min of New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the number of people child abuse suspects surged to about 1,000 last year, a nearly tenfold increase from 2010.

From January to July this year, the number has already exceeded 1,500.

But alongside the rise in the number of child abuse cases, the proportion of suspects who are indicted has fallen to around 25 percent.

In 2013, the indictment rate reached a record high of 32.7 percent but started to fall again from last year.

Even when convicted, many child abusers are given light sentences such as fines or suspended jail terms, the lawmaker said.

Last month, a father who hit his 9-year-old son on the head with a hanger until he bled was sentenced to four years in prison, suspended for one year.

This was because the victim did not ask for punishment and the suspect did not have a criminal record.