Authorities are investigating a number of schools in Chile’s capital city amid reports of child sex abuse.

The country’s Attorney General Sabas Chahuan said his office is looking into possible child sex abuse cases in 49 eastern Santiago schools and 12 in the western part of the city.

Many of those accused are

According to official estimates obtained by the Associate Press, sexual abuse of children under the age of 14 jumped 22 percent in the first half of the year when compared to the same period last year.

Last month, Chile’s government made it illegal to work near children and also now requires child sex abusers to register in a central database.

“Wherever there are children, we will investigate just the same as we do with corruption or economic crimes,” Chahuan said. “We put ourselves in the place of the parents and we know they’re worried, anxious and desperate.”