Steve LePore was sexually abused for 10 years beginning at age 4 or 5, he said. His abusers were both male and female. He buried the memories for years until they resurfaced when he was an adult. It was a shocking, yet cathartic awakening for him, he said.

He looked for information on the Web regarding sexual abuse of boys, but found virtually nothing. He eventually sought out counseling to help him process the memories and feelings that were returning to his consciousness.

That therapy lasted for eight years and led him to found the help group 1in6 Inc.

LePore, currently living in Los Angeles, Calif., shared part of his story — without the more explicit details — with a crowd of people at Unionville High School during an adults only program sponsored by FOCUS and the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Foundation.

Now 56, LePore told the group of about 100 people assembled in the school’s auditorium that he doesn’t call himself a victim. Rather, he said, he’s “a survivor of unwanted sexual exposure.”

In sharing his story he also shared a number of eye-opening statistics. One in three women and one in six men are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Roughly 24 percent of the population has suffered some sort of sexual trauma as a child.

Additionally, more than 90 percent of the abusers are known and trusted by the child, and up to 50 percent of the abusers are children or adolescents. Nine out of 10 cases of child sexual abuse are never reported.

Despite the news stories of institutional scandals — Penn State and Jerry Sandusky, situations with Catholic priests or in the Boy Scouts — LePore said most of the incidents don’t happen in an institutional setting and may not involve touch or penetration.

“Less than 5 percent of survivors suffered clergy abuse,” he said.

It could be unwanted exposure to pornography at an inappropriate age, he said or, as was the case for him in one situation, having someone watch while taking a shower.

Men who experience sexual abuse as children have a number of ineffective coping mechanisms, he said. Among them are alcohol or drug abuse, anger issues, violence or risky behaviors, both sexual and nonsexual, LePore said.

In his own case, he could never yell or cheer aloud while at a sporting event. It was a self-esteem issue: “I had no voice of my own.”

He carried that theme toward others by saying men who are taught to be strong and tough it out, often “Don’t have the language or words to express themselves…They detach emotionally.”

LePore also dispelled some myths. He said that while it’s true that most abusers were themselves abused, most men who were abused as children won’t victimize another person. Also, childhood sexual abuse dot not influence a person’s sexual orientation. A person is either gay or straight regardless of any abuse.

He said there is hope for survivors, but they need to come to grips with some common issues, specifically the feelings of shame and vulnerability, depression, relationship problems and feelings of isolation.

During a panel discussion following LePore’s talk, several panel members said there are some sign suggesting abuse. Signs to look for include a sudden change in behavior, extra cleaning and a sudden avoidance of certain people. There are also nightmares, bedwetting and acting sexually too soon for their age. Parents were advised to trust their gut.