CNN
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According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Pieper Lewis, an Iowa teenage sex trafficking victim who murdered a man who claimed she raped him multiple times, was placed on probation in residential corrections. Detained again after escaping from facility.
Lewis, 18, walks out of the Des Moines women’s center sent as part of a postponed sentencing after pleading guilty to willful manslaughter and willful bodily injury in the 2020 murder of a 37-year-old. Arrested days later. Zachary Brooks when Lewis was 15.
The teenager is currently being held at the Polk County Jail, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ryan Evans told CNN.
Lewis disappeared in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 4 as she disconnected her electronic surveillance equipment and left the Fresh Start Women’s Center, executive director of the Fifth Judicial District’s Office of Corrections, Jerry Evans, previously told CNN. rice field.
When she left, authorities filed a “probation violation report,” Evans told CNN.
At 6:19 a.m., an alarm went off at the facility, notifying staff that the door had been opened, according to the probation violation report. A resident officer later saw Lewis exit the facility through a door, according to reports obtained by CNN.
The report, signed by the probation officer and housing superintendent, continued to call for an arrest warrant for Lewis, stating that “it was further ordered that her postponed sentence be canceled and that her original sentence be imposed.” added.
CNN reached out to the Iowa Department of Corrections for more information.
Lewis became a resident of the Fresh Start Women’s Center after pleading guilty to Brooks’ murder, and said in her plea bargain, he raped her multiple times.
She originally faced 20 years in prison. But in September, Polk County District Court Judge David Porter ordered a stay of her sentence, meaning her petition would be canceled if she were given a suspended sentence at a residential correctional facility. It means that there is a possibility that
Under Iowa law, the court also had to order Lewis to pay $150,000 in damages to the Brooks family, the judge said. He also ruled that she should serve her 200 hours of community service and pay civil penalties of over $4,000.
In the plea deal, Lewis outlined in court a chain of events that she said began with her running away from home because she was in an abusive environment, leading to her murder. and forced to have sex with other men in exchange for money. She said in her consent form that she was repeatedly assaulted, including by
On May 31, 2020, the man Lewis lived with forced Lewis to confront her with a knife and go to Brooks’ apartment. One day, she wakes up to find herself raped by Brooks.
Brooks then fell asleep and, realizing that Lewis had raped her again, was “conquered with anger” and “immediately grabbed a knife from his nightstand and began stabbing him,” she said in the plea deal. rice field.
While Lewis’ attorneys were happy with the postponement of the sentence, advocates for victims of sexual assault expressed concern about her ability to complete her sentence, pointing to the extent of her trauma.
They also note that her case has helped other Americans where teenagers (often people of color) have been legally punished or convicted for killing sex traffickers and assaulters. I have highlighted how it is consistent with recent cases.
