Holly MatkinDes Moines, IA – A fundraising campaign established to pay restitution obligations for a 17-year-old girl who pleaded guilty to murdering her rapist has raised more than $365,000 so far.
Pieper Lewis was a 15-year-old runaway when a 28-year-old man took her in and began trafficking her to various men for sex, NPR reported.
Lewis said she was forced to go to 37-year-old Zachary Brooks’ residence on multiple occasions, and that Brooks repeatedly raped her during those encounters.
In her plea agreement, the teen said that Brooks gave her marijuana and alcohol before raping her at least five times over three days in June of 2020 while she was unconscious, CNN reported.
She said that she recalled regaining consciousness off-and-on, and that Brooks was still on top of her each time, according to court documents.
Lewis said Brooks finally passed out naked on the bed, giving her a chance to find her clothing, CNN reported.
“I suddenly realized that Mr. Brooks had raped me yet again and was overcome with rage,” she said in the plea agreement. “Without thinking, I immediately grabbed the knife from his nightstand and began stabbing him.”
Lewis plunged the knife into Brooks more than 30 times, NPR reported.
“I further acknowledge that the multiple stab wounds that I inflicted upon Mr. Brooks thereafter ultimately resulted in his death,” the teen said in the plea agreement, according to CNN.
Prosecutors and law enforcement investigators have not disputed Lewis’ claims of being a victim of sexual assault and trafficking, NPR reported.
But prosecutors argued that the then-15-year-old was not in immediate danger when she fatally stabbed Brooks because he was asleep.
They also disagreed with Lewis describing herself as a victim and accused her of failing to take full responsibility for his death, NPR reported.
Brooks’ murder left his children “without a father,” prosecutors said.
Lewis was originally charged with first-degree murder, but ultimately pleaded guilty to reduced charges of willful injury and involuntary manslaughter, NPR reported.
She faced up to 10 years in prison on both counts.
Polk County District Judge David Porter deferred imposition of sentence for a period of five years on Sept. 13, thereby placing Lewis on probation, NPR reported.
Her record may be expunged if she successfully completes the probation term.
Under Iowa state law, the court must impose at least $150,000 in restitution in cases where the defendant kills another person, CNN reported.
“This court is presented with no other option,” Porter said, according to NPR.
He ordered Lewis to pay $150,000 in restitution to her rapist’s estate, as well as more than $4,000 in civil penalties, CNN reported.
“This is the second chance that you’ve asked for,” Porter told the teen on Tuesday. “You don’t get a third.”
One of Lewis’ former teachers, Leland Schipper, launched a GoFundMe page on her behalf after the sentence was imposed in an effort to help cover the restitution and fine requirements imposed by the court.
“Pieper does not owe that man’s family justice. Pieper does not deserve to be finically burdened for the rest of her life because the state of Iowa wrote a law that fails to give judges any discretion as to how it is applied,” Schipper wrote on the fundraising page. “A child who was raped, under no circumstances, should owe the rapist’s family money.”
Over 9,700 donors have contributed more than $365,000 to the fund so far.
Schipper said that in addition to paying the restitution and fine obligations, the funds will be utilized to “remove financial barriers for Pieper in pursuing college/university or starting her own business,” as well as to provide her with “the financial capacity to explore ways to help other young victims of sex crimes.”
