A young sex trafficking victim in who had been sentenced to probation in September managed to escape from a women’s center early Friday morning.
Pieper Lewis entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury in connection to the death of Zachary Brooks. The now 18 years old said Brooks had repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she was just 15 years old.
A probation violation report states that someone allegedly opened a door at Fresh Start at 6:19 a.m. on Friday, triggering an alarm and waking the on-site residential officer. The accompanying violation complaint also noted that the officer witnessed Lewis leaving the establishment. According to the report, Lewis’ GPS tracker was also disconnected on Friday.
According to KCCI, a warrant has been issued for Lewis’ arrest, and her probation report requested that her deferred judgment be canceled, and her original sentence be reinstated. The law provides a maximum of 20 years in prison for her crime.
Last year, Lewis pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury for the June 2020 murder of Zachary Brooks, her alleged rapist. Brooks was a 37-year-old married man and father of two. Lewis was 15 years old when she stabbed Brooks more than 30 times in a residence in Des Moines.
Prosecutors had argued that the teen’s probationary sentence handed in September was merciful in light of the horrific treatment she had suffered, while some had questioned the $150,000 in restitution she was required to pay.
As Blavity reported, over $560,000 was donated to a GoFundMe campaign to meet her financial obligations.
It was the “second opportunity you begged for,” Polk County Judge David Porter reminded Lewis as he handed down her sentence of probation. “You do not receive a third,” he added.
Lewis’ prison term would have been expunged from her record if she had finished her five years of stringent supervision during her probation.
