Trafficked Teen Who Killed Her Alleged Rapist Ordered To Pay $150K In Restitution

A teen human trafficking victim from Iowa who killed her alleged rapist has been ordered to pay his family $150k in restitution.

Pieper Lewis, 17, fatally stabbed her alleged rapist, Zachary Brooks, in June 2020 at his apartment in Des Moines. She was sentenced Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and wilful injury. Although the charges against Lewis were punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Polk County District Judge David M. Porter deferred her sentence, NY Post reported.

Lewis will also have to serve five years of closely supervised probation and pay an additional 4,000 in restitution to the state.

The girl ran away from her abusive stepmother when she was 15 and a man, identified as Christopher Brown, forced her to have sex with other men. Brooks was one of her abusers, who reportedly raped her multiple times.

Investigators found out that Lewis stabbed Brooks more than 30 times while he was asleep. She was originally charged with first-degree murder and sent to a juvenile detention center.

Though prosecutors never disputed that Lewis was sexually assaulted, they argued Lewis stabbed Brooks while he was asleep and when he was not a threat to her, the Guardian reported.

When the court asked Lewis about her decision to kill Brooks, she reportedly responded: "My intentions that day were not to just to go out and take somebody's life. In my mind, I felt that I wasn't safe and I felt that I was in danger, which resulted in the acts. But it doesn't take away from the fact that a crime was committed."

During the sentencing, the court observed that it was "presented with no other option" but to order her to pay restitution, as it was mandatory under Iowa state law.

Lewis read out a statement in court describing herself as a "survivor." "My spirit has been burned, but still glows through the flames. Hear me roar, see me glow, and watch me grow," she said.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help the teen girl pay off her restitution. It has surpassed $312,000, more than what she owes to Brooks' family. The additional fund will be used to help Lewis pursue a university education.