18-Year-Old Iowa Teenager Who Killed Alleged Rapist Back in Custody After Escaping Facility

An Iowa teenager who killed her alleged rapist violated her probation when she escaped from a women’s center last week.

According to CNN, 18-year-old Pieper Lewis has been captured and is back in custody after being on the run for several days.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced that Lewis was sent to the center as part of a deferred judgment after she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury. She made the plea for killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, her alleged rapist, as a 15-year-old in 2020.

The Iowa Department of Corrections stated that Lewis was found and apprehended in Des Moines and was brought back into custody Tuesday. She is currently being held at the Polk County Jail and faces an upcoming court date for violating her probation.

When she pleaded guilty, Lewis was looking at a possible 20-year jail sentence. After she escaped last week, according to a probation violation report, there was a request for a warrant for Lewis’ arrest. The report stated:

“It is further ordered that her deferred judgments (be) revoked and original sentence imposed.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that Polk County District Judge David Porter deferred the 20-year prison sentence for Lewis because she said she was forced into sex trafficking.

Before the stabbing, Lewis allegedly ran away from her adoptive mother, who she claimed was abusive. She had gotten shelter from a 28-year-old man whom she said forced her into sex trafficking. She said he held her at knifepoint and ordered her to have sex with several men, including Brooks. Reportedly, he sexually assaulted Lewis multiple times before she retaliated and stabbed him.

The judge ordered the 18-year-old to serve 1,200 hours of community service, which would cover more than $4,000 in fines. Lewis is also required by Iowa law to pay $150,000 in compensation for the death of her victim.

She is now facing 20 years in jail.