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Iowa teenager convicted of killing accused rapist

A teenage trafficking victim, who was initially charged with first-degree murder after stabbing and killing a rapist, was sentenced to five years’ probation in an Iowa state court on Tuesday and was sentenced to 15 years by the man’s family. was ordered to pay $10,000 in damages. Pieper Lewis, 17, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to manslaughter and intentional injury in the June 2020 murder of her 37-year-old Zachary Brooks in Des Moines. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for her. Polk County District Court Judge David M. Porter said on Tuesday that if Lewis violated part of his probation, he could be sent to prison to serve a 20-year term. deferred imprisonment. “This court has no other choice,” Porter said, noting that under Iowa law, which was upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court, compensation is required. Over $168,000 was raised thanks to the Brooks family. Lewis stabbed Brooks more than 30 times in her Des Moines apartment when she was 15. Officials said Lewis was a runaway trying to escape an abusive life with her adoptive mother, and that as she slept in the hallway of her Des Moines apartment, a 28-year-old man took her in and asked another man to rape her. Lewis said one of those men was Brooks, who raped her multiple times in the weeks before his death. She grabbed a knife from the bedside table and stabbed Brooks in a fit of rage after Brooks raped her again. But prosecutors say Brooks was asleep when he was stabbed, so he wasn’t an immediate danger to Lewis. In a statement before his arrest, he admitted that he struggled with the structure of his detention, including “why were you treated like fragile glass?” Her friends and family. “My spirit is on fire, but still glowing in the flames.” Please.” “I am a survivor,” she added. Case. Leading up to Brooks’ stabbing, she occasionally expressed concern that she did not want to follow the rules set for her at the juvenile detention center. “This is the second chance you asked for,” Porter later said. The bill passed the Iowa House of Representatives earlier this year, but said it was stalled in the Senate due to concerns from law enforcement.”There was a task force set up to try to resolve the issue,” said Schilling, who said the bill would not be available until next year. I hope it will be picked up again.” The victim committed a violation “under coercion by the threat of serious injury to another person if the defendant reasonably believed that serious injury was imminent.”

A teenage trafficking victim, who was initially charged with first-degree murder after stabbing and killing a rapist, was sentenced to five years’ probation in an Iowa state court on Tuesday and was sentenced to 15 years by the man’s family. was ordered to pay $10,000 in damages.

A GoFundMe page set up for a teenage girl has raised more than she owes.

Pieper Lewis, 17, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to manslaughter and intentional injury in the June 2020 murder of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks in Des Moines. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for her.

Polk County District Court Judge David M. Porter on Tuesday stayed a prison sentence. This means that if Lewis violates any part of his probation, he could be sent to prison to serve a 20-year term.

“There is no other option in this court,” Porter said when it came to having to pay for her rapist’s estate, which must be returned under Iowa law upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court. It pointed out.

as of Wednesday morning, go fund me It was set up to help Lewis pay the restitution owed to the Brooks family and has raised over $168,000.The highest single donation was $5,000 from an anonymous donor.

Lewis was 15 when he stabbed Brooks over 30 times in his Des Moines apartment. Officials said Lewis was a runaway from her family trying to escape an abusive life with her adoptive mother, and that she was sleeping in the hallway of her Des Moines apartment when a 28-year-old man took her and Forcibly trafficked her to other men.Sex.

Lewis said one of those men was Brooks, who had raped her multiple times in the weeks before his death. She told officials that after Brooks raped her again, she grabbed a knife from her bedside table and stabbed Brooks in a fit of rage.

Police and prosecutors do not dispute that Lewis was sexually assaulted and trafficked. However, prosecutors argue that Brooks was asleep when he was stabbed, so he was not in immediate danger to Lewis.

Iowa is not one of dozens of states that have enacted so-called safe harbor laws that give victims of human trafficking at least some degree of impunity.

Lewis, who won a GED while in juvenile detention, said in a pre-sentence statement that she struggled with the structure of her detention, including “why I was treated like fragile glass” and why she wasn’t allowed to communicate. I admit I did. friends and family.

“My spirit burned, but still glows in the flames,” she read from the statement she prepared. watch it grow.”

“I am a survivor,” she added.

The Associated Press typically doesn’t name sexual assault victims, but Lewis has previously agreed to use her name in an article about her case.

Prosecutors took issue with Lewis’ self-proclaimed victim in the incident, saying she was not responsible for stabbing Brooks and “left his children without a father.”

The judge repeatedly asked Lewis to explain her poor choices that led to Brooks’ stabbing, and expressed concern that she may not want to follow the rules set for her in juvenile detention.

“The next five years of your life are going to be filled with rules you don’t agree with. I’m sure of it.” You won’t get a second time,” he added.

Karl Schilling of the Iowa Organization for Victim Assistance said a bill to create a safe harbor for victims of trafficking passed the Iowa legislature earlier this year but stalled in the Senate due to law enforcement concerns. rice field.

“There was a working group set up to work out the problem,” Schilling said. “I hope it will be picked up next year as well.”

Iowa has an affirmative defense law that gives victims of crime some discretion if they commit the offense “under duress by another’s threat to inflict serious injury.”

Prosecutors on Tuesday argued that Lewis waived a positive defense when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and willful bodily injury.

https://www.wgal.com/article/iowa-teen-who-killed-rapist-sentenced/41068409 Iowa teenager convicted of killing accused rapist

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