Source: Randy Faris / Getty
An 18-year-old sex trafficking victim in Iowa is on the run as authorities continue attempting to pin down her whereabouts.
Pieper Lewis killed her 37-year-old alleged rapist, Zachary Brooks of Des Moines, by stabbing him over 30 times in 2020 when she was 15.
Lewis pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury related to Brooks’ death in 2021.
In addition to a five-year closely supervised probation sentence, Polk County District Judge David M. Porter ordered Lewis to pay Brooks’ family $150,000 in restitution.
Recently obtained probation violation documents reveal Lewis escaped Fresh Start Women’s Center at around 6:15 a.m. and cut off her GPS monitoring system on Nov. 4.
The teenager faces up to 20 years in prison for violating her probation, according to CBS News.
“At this time, her whereabouts are unknown,” said the executive director for the 5th Judicial District, Jerry Evans, in a statement. “A probation violation report was filed on Friday recommending revocation of her probation. A warrant for her arrest was subsequently issued that remains outstanding.”
Pieper Lewis’ Story
Lewis claimed during her trial that she was sexually trafficked against her will to Brooks for sex multiple times, the Associated Press detailed.
The teenager reportedly stabbed Brooks “in a fit of rage,” according to the source, and neither police nor prosecutors disputed she was sexually assaulted and trafficked.
The teen would’ve gotten her prison sentence expunged had she successfully completed her five years of supervised probation.
Judge Porter said during the teenager’s sentencing in September, “This was the second chance you asked for. You don’t get a third.”
That same month, Lewis’ former math teacher created a GoFundMe to help pay the restitution she owes and her other finances.
The fundraiser has currently raised over $562,000.
RELATED CONTENT: “Sex Trafficking Survivor Sara Kruzan Receives A Pardon From Gov. Gavin Newsom”
