 priests or deacons or members of religious orders, active in the USA during the time covered by the study.However, of these 4392 accused, 252 (5.7% of those accused or less than 0.1% of total clergy) were convicted.The number of alleged abuses increased in the 1960s, peaked in the 1970s, declined in the 1980s, and by the 1990s had returned to the levels of the 1950s.