Ind. teens accused of bullying bus mates

PORTAGE, Ind., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Three teenage boys in Portage, Ind., are facing charges including sexual battery for allegedly bullying their peers on a school bus, police say.

Portage Police Department Sgt. Keith Hughes alleges the three teens, two aged 17 and one aged 16, routinely harassed their fellow passengers on a school bus, groping teenage girls and setting small fires, The Gary (Ind.) Post-Tribune said Friday.

The teenage boys were charged with various crimes after police learned of a Feb. 5 incident in which one of the suspects allegedly exposed his genitals on the bus. That incident also involved one of the other suspects, who allegedly attempted to push a girl's face against the other teen's genitals.

The three suspects also groped several teenage girls and two of the unidentified suspects threatened some of their female victims, police allege.

Hughes told the Post-Tribune the suspects, who are all facing expulsion from their Portage school, may avoid "serious" jail time due to their young ages.

"These are charges that if they were adults ... they would be facing some serious time," he said.