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Pieper Lewis, the Iowa teen who killed her rapist when she was 15-years-old in 2020, escaped from a women’s probation center.
Two months ago the nation learned of Pieper Lewis, 18, after she was sentenced for the 2020 killing of her 37-year-old rapist when she was only 15-years-old. The Iowa teen was a human trafficking victim and was raped multiple times by 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, facts that police and prosecutors did not dispute.
Lewis pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter last year after she stabbed Brooks over 30 times, and in September 2022 was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to her rapist’s family.
Iowa law requires the court to sentence offenders to pay at least $150,000 in restitution if they kill another person.
“This court is presented with no other option,” Iowa Judge David Porter said in his ruling.
The news of a 15-year-old human trafficking victim being required to pay their rapist’s family $150,000 angered many across the country.
This happens all the time. Marissa Alexander, CeCe McDonald, Bresha Meadows, Catina Curley, Jacqueline Dixon, Cyntoia Brown, Chrystul Kizer, and now Pieper Lewis are a handful of names we know from an endless list. The system doesn’t protect survivors, it punishes them daily. https://t.co/n31pkAxLf5
— William C. (@williamcson) September 14, 2022
Don’t get why teen human trafficking victim, who stabbed her rapist to death, must pay 150 grand to his fam, plus do 5yrs close supervision. She was seeking to escape abusive life w/adopted stepmom & was raped multiple times by him. 17 yr old Pieper Lewis.
— Janice ? Save U.S. from the Stable Genius (@scarflady777) September 14, 2022
A GoFundMe was set up by Lewis’ former math teacher, Leland Schipper, to assist Pieper in paying off the restitution as well as to “remove financial barriers for Pieper in pursuing college or starting her own business”. At the time of publication, Pieper’s GoFundMe has raised over $560,000.
Pieper Lewis Escapes From Probation Center
If Lewis had successfully completed five years of closely supervised probation her prison sentence would have been expunged from her record.
Judge Porter said her probation sentence “was the second chance [she] asked for. [She] doesn’t get a third.”
According to KCCI, Lewis escaped from a women’s probation center on Friday around 6 a.m. and reportedly cut off her GPS monitor. An arrest warrant was issued for Lewis’ and she could face up to 20 years in prison.