Pieper Lewis at the age of fifteen, killed a man she says raped her multiple times while being trafficked. She was originally charged with first-degree murder for killing Zachary Brooks, 37, and pleaded guilty to it. However, Judge Porter instead gave her a deferred sentence, five years of probation, placement at a women’s facility with a GPS tracker, and an order that she pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of her accused rapist in the hopes that she won’t go back to her old way of life. Lewis also says that Brooks forced her to join a sex trafficking ring and gave her alcohol and marijuana. Additionally, she claims that he had multiple sex with her while she was unconscious.
Pieper Lewis escaped from custody after receiving a five-year supervised probation sentence and an order to pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of her accused rapist. CNN reports that Lewis cut off her electronic monitoring tracking device and walked away from the Fresh Start Women’s Center on Friday.
According to CNN, Lewis is one of a number of teenagers who have been legally penalized or convicted of killing their sex trafficker or assaulter in recent years, with the emphasis being placed on the fact that people of color are frequently affected by these cases. Lewis’s defender refused to merely stand by and do nothing. To assist in paying the owed restitution, her former math teacher established a GoFundMe account and raised over $373,000 in funding. Her whereabouts are still unknown.
