PORTAGE | Three Portage High School boys used threats and fear to take over the school bus they rode and then spent much of the school year sexually touching girls, using aerosol cans to make blowtorches and doing other horrible acts, police said.

The "pattern of unspeakable depravity" finally ended when a girl came forward after one of the boys tried to push her face into the exposed genitals of another of the boys, said Portage police Cpl. Troy Williams, school resource officer. An investigation showed that girl and two other girls reported the boys touched their breasts on prior occasions.

Williams said all three suspects immediately were locked up at the Juvenile Detention Center, and school Superintendent Mike Berta said all three have been suspended from school, pending expulsion.

"As soon as we found out about it, we took swift and immediate action," Williams said.

Two of the juveniles remain in detention and one was released on a house arrest arrangement based on his involvement, said Chris Buyer, assistant chief of the county juvenile probation department.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, he said.

Berta said the acts occurred on a school bus that serves the northwest part of Portage. The acts began shortly after the school year began and ended when the boys were arrested Feb. 6, Williams said.

The boys, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds from Portage, all face charges of criminal recklessness, harassment, sexual battery, disorderly conduct and battery or strangulation. Some of them also face intimidation and public indecency charges.

Williams said the students on the bus didn't come forward sooner because of fear.

"I'm grateful this information finally came to someone who was in a position to do something about it ... and appropriate action was taken right away," Berta said. "As an educator, (what occurred on the bus) is extremely upsetting."

Police finally learned about the situation when a 16-year-old Portage girl called her stepfather after one of the boys grabbed her neck and tried, but failed, to force her face into the exposed genitals of another of the boys on the bus on Feb. 5. The stepfather showed up at a bus stop and the boys tried to provoke a fight, police said.

Police said the stepfather addressed the matter with the bus driver, but the bus driver didn't contact anyone for further investigation. The driver has been removed from his job, pending a decision on final discipline, Berta said.

Police were called that evening and, the next morning, Williams met the boys as they got off the school bus at school. The boys denied wrongdoing, except that one of them admitted another exposed himself. All three boys were arrested, and Williams began interviewing at least a dozen students who ride the bus.

The students said the boys used aerosol body spray to make blowtorches, lit paper on fire and threw it out the bus windows. Williams said three girls -- ages 15, 16 and 17 -- reported the boys grabbed their breasts on the bus. In addition, numerous other students were bullied, harassed or were the victims of lewd comments. One of the boys is accused of threatening to kill another student, while another of the boys is accused of threatening to rape another student.

Williams said the investigation continues and more charges are possible. He said it will be up to prosecutors to determine if the boys will face any adult charges.