Charges have been changed against one of five South Winneshiek students

There have been some changes in the case of 18-year-old Braxton Smith, one of five South Winneshiek High School students facing charges in connection with an incident last June at a home west of Spillville.

Smith had originally been charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit sexual assault, an aggravated misdemeanor carrying a maximum possible penalty of two years in jail.  But at an arraignment earlier this month in Winneshiek County Court, a different criminal charge was filed.  Smith now faces a charge of False Imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor with a maximum possible sentence of one year in jail.  A companion charge of simple misdemeanor assault remains intact and was not changed.

A pretrial conference in the case has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. June 4th at the Winneshiek County Courthouse, with a trial scheduled for later in June.

The other four defendants in the case are minors, so they will be appearing in Juvenile Court, whose records are not open to the public.