An Iowa teen who was reportedly being sex trafficked when she killed her rapist was sentenced on Tuesday to five years of probation and was also ordered to pay $150,000 to the slain man’s family.
Pieper Lewis, 17, also received a deferred judgment, meaning her voluntary manslaughter conviction could be expunged when she completes her probation. While on probation, Lewis will be housed at the Fresh Start Women’s Center and she will be subjected to GPS monitoring, according to the Des Moines Register.
Lewis was 15 when her 40-year-old boyfriend pulled a knife on her and forced her to go to Zachary Brooks’ apartment in June 2020. Lewis claimed Brooks, 37, had raped her multiple times in the weeks leading up to the slaying.
Once at the apartment, Brooks allegedly made Lewis get undressed, drink alcohol, and smoke marijuana while they watched a movie.
Lewis admitted to stabbing Brooks 30 times, but she claimed she did not plot to kill him. Instead, she stated that she became enraged after she woke up to Brooks raping her and ignoring her pleas to stop.
Lewis said she was getting dressed when she spotted the knife on the bedside and repeatedly stabbed Brooks. The 15-year-old reportedly fled the scene in Brooks’ car. A maintenance worker discovered his body the same day.
Polk County prosecutors never denied allegations that Pieper was trafficked and a rape victim. The age of consent in Iowa is 16; though individuals 14 and 15 can consent with people within two years of their age.
The Des Moines Register reported that state law requires individuals convicted of homicide to pay $150,000. Polk County District Judge David M. Porter ordered the judgment to be paid to Brooks’ estate, after rejecting defense attorneys’ argument that he was 51 percent responsible for the deadly incident.
The name of the person who Lewis claimed trafficked her has not been publicly disclosed because he has not been charged with a crime.
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[Featured image: Pieper Lewis/Facebook; Zachary Brooks/Henderson’s Highland Park Funeral Home]
