Iowa teen to pay compensation to family of rape accused
2022.09.15 11:03
Iowa teen to pay compensation to family of rape accused
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – On Thursday, a teen from Iowa received more than double the $150,000 a court ordered her to pay the family of a man she killed after he allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
A GoFundMe campaign for Pieper Lewis, 17, had raised more than $340,000 as of Thursday morning, well beyond its $200,000 goal, less than two days after a judge sentenced the Des Moines teenager for the killing of her accused rapist, whom she stabbed to death in 2020.
Leland Schipper, her former high school math teacher, who set up the page to help pay for Pieper’s education and the restitution, said, “As the donations have increased, I am overjoyed with the prospect of removing this burden from Pieper.”
In June 2021, one year after she killed Zachary Brooks, 37, in Des Moines, Lewis entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury. When Lewis first met Brooks in May 2020, she was 15 years old and homeless.
Lewis claimed that she was a victim of sex trafficking, that Brooks raped her the night they met, and that she stabbed him to death while he was sleeping in a fit of rage.
“Things can shift due to my story. Lewis stated on Tuesday during her sentencing hearing, “My story has changed me.” Even though I would like to, I can’t change the terrible day that happened.”
Lewis was given a five-year probation sentence by Polk County District Judge David Porter during the hearing, and he also ordered her to do 1,200 hours of community service. According to the Des Moines Register, he also ordered her to pay $150,000 to Brooks’ family, stating that he was required to do so by Iowa law.
Her legal team was considering filing an appeal against the restitution order. According to the Des Moines Register, donations can be used to pay the restitution. The office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said that.
