Iowa Teen Who Killed Her Rapist, Escaped a Woman’s Center and Now May Face 20-Years In Prison

A long road to prison may be ahead for a teen who escaped a woman’s center where she was serving time.

Pieper Lewis, an Iowa sex trafficking victim who pleaded guilty to killing her alleged rapist when she was 15 years old, has reportedly violated her probation after escaping from a women’s center she was assigned to after her trial.

According to Des Moines Register, Iowa authorities reported that Lewis was seen exiting the Fresh Start Women’s Center in Des Moines, where she was sentenced to serve a five-year probation period.

A probation violation report from the Judicial District Department of Correctional Services claimed that a residential officer was notified of a door opening when the facility’s alarm went off at approximately 6:19 a.m. The report said the officer observed Lewis exiting the facility through the A-Wing door before she allegedly cut off her GPS and went on the run.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Lewis was sentenced at 17 years old in September on charges of involuntary manslaughter and willful injury after allegedly stabbing 37-year-old Zachary Brooks to death in June 2020. Polk County District Judge David Porter deferred the 20-year prison sentence for Lewis, who said she was forced into sex trafficking.

“Well, Ms. Lewis, this was the second chance you asked for. You don’t get a third. Do you understand that?” Porter asked her in September.

Before the stabbing, Lewis ran away from her adoptive mother, who she claimed was abusive. She was taken in by a 28-year-old man who allegedly forced her into sex trafficking and held her at knifepoint, ordering her to have sex with multiple men, including Brooks. Reportedly, he sexually assaulted Lewis multiple times before she stabbed him after raping her again.

Des Moines Register reported that as of Sunday, Lewis, now 18 years old, was not in custody at Polk County Jail or reported as apprehended. The family of Brooks has been notified of Lewis’s escape.

According to the outlet, the judge ordered Lewis to serve 1,200 hours of community service, which would cover more than $4,000 in fines. Additionally, Lewis is required by Iowa law to pay $150,000 in compensation for the death of her victim.

She could face the full 20 years in prison after violating her probation.