A teenage sex-trafficking victim who stab*ed her accused rapist to death was ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family and sentenced to five years of closely-supervised probation by a judge in Iowa on Tuesday.
Pieper Lewis was a 15-year-old runaway when she stabbed her 37-year-old abuser, Zachary Brooks, more than 30 times in a Des Moines apartment in June 2020.
Lewis, now 17, was originally charged with first-degree murder for the fatally stabbing. Last year, she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury. Each charge is punishable to up to 10 years in prison.
The judge said Lewis was ordered to pay the estate of her rapist because the court was “presented with no other option,” adding that the restitution is mandatory under Iowa state law.
