Judge orders Iowa teen trafficking victim to pay $150K in restitution to family of rapist she killed

ph1l · Sep 14, 2022

In a sane universe, the rapist's estate would be paying restitution to the victim, but in America ...
https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-or...pay-150k-restitution-family-rapist-she-killed

Judge orders Iowa teen trafficking victim to pay $150K in restitution to family of rapist she killed
Prosecutors took issue with Pieper Lewis labeling herself as a survivor
By Landon Mion | Fox News

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Pieper Lewis, 17, stabbed her abuser, 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, more than 30 times in June 2020. She was initially charged with first-degree murder.

Last year, Lewis pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury, both of which were punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, Polk County District Judge David Porter deferred those prison sentences on Tuesday, meaning Lewis could serve 20 years if she violates her probation.

Porter said he ordered Lewis to pay restitution to Brooks' family because the court was "presented with no other option." He explained that the restitution is mandatory under Iowa law.

SAN FRANCISCO POLICE UNION: MAYOR'S CRIME CRACKDOWN IS 'ACKNOWLEDGMENT' THAT DEFUND POLICE WAS 'MISTAKE'

Pieper Lewis, 17, stabbed her abuser, 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, more than 30 times in June 2020. She was initially charged with first-degree murder.

Lewis, who was 15 when she stabbed Brooks in a Des Moines apartment, had run away from home to escape her abusive adoptive mother. She was sleeping in the halls of an apartment building when Christopher Brown, 28, took her in and began trafficking her to other men for sex, according to officials.

Among those men was Brooks, who Lewis said raped her multiple times before she killed him. She recalled being forced at knife point to go to his apartment for sex. After Brooks raped her for what would end up being the last time, Lewis grabbed a knife off a bedside table and stabbed him.

Neither police nor prosecutors dispute whether Lewis was trafficked and assaulted, but prosecutors allege that Brooks was not an immediate threat because he was asleep when he was stabbed.

Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity.

Lewis will be transported to a halfway house in Des Moines and will wear a GPS tracking device to ensure she does not fall "back into the lifestyle that you thus far left," Porter said. She will also have to complete 200 hours of community service.

"My spirit has been burned, but still glows through the flames," she read from a prepared statement prior to her sentencing. "Hear me roar, see me glow, and watch me grow."

Last year, Lewis pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury.

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"I am a survivor," she continued.

Prosecutors took issue with Lewis labeling herself as a survivor, claiming she failed to take responsibility for Brooks' death and left his children without a father.

The judge pressed Lewis to explain the poor choices she made that led to the stabbing and noted his concerns that she sometimes did not wish to follow rules in juvenile detention.

"The next five years of your life will be full of rules you disagree with, I'm sure of it," Porter said, later adding, "This is the second chance that you've asked for. You don't get a third."

Lewis said, "I took a person's life. My intentions that day were not to just go out and take somebody’s life. In my mind, I felt that I wasn't safe, and I felt that I was in danger, which resulted in the acts. But it doesn't take away from the fact that a crime was committed."

She said she regretted the stabbing, "but to say there is one victim is absurd."

Prosecutors took issue with Lewis labeling herself as a survivor, claiming she failed to take responsibility for Brooks' death and left his children without a father.

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Iowa does have an affirmative defense law that offers some leeway to victims of a crime if the victim committed the violation "under compulsion by another’s threat of serious injury, provided that the defendant reasonably believed that such injury was imminent."

However, prosecutors argued that Lewis waived that affirmative defense when she pleaded guilty to manslaughter and willful injury.
More...

gwb-trading · Sep 14, 2022

ph1l said:
In a sane universe, the rapist's estate would be paying restitution to the victim, but in America ...
https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-or...pay-150k-restitution-family-rapist-she-killed
More...

It is a very odd case. But it should be noted that instead of fleeing from her rapist, she killed him with knife while he slept. This is what led to the charges. "Brooks was not an immediate threat because he was asleep when he was stabbed." If Brooks (the rapist) was an immediate threat then she would have not been charged.

The judge in the case was also disturbed by the requirement to pay compensation to the rapist's family -- However under Iowa law if you kill someone (manslaughter, homicide, or murder) then the law states you must pay compensation to the victim's family. In this particular case the "victim" was the rapist.

"Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity."

Very strange situation all around IMO.

TreeFrogTrader · Sep 14, 2022

gwb-trading said:
It is a very odd case. But it should be noted that instead of fleeing from her rapist, she killed him with knife while he slept. This is what led to the charges. "Brooks was not an immediate threat because he was asleep when he was stabbed." If Brooks (the rapist) was an immediate threat then she would have not been charged.

The judge in the case was also disturbed by the requirement to pay compensation to the rapist's family -- However under Iowa law if you kill someone (manslaughter, homicide, or murder) then the law states you must pay compensation to the victim's family. In this particular case the "victim" was the rapist.

"Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity."

Very strange situation all around IMO.
More...

She needed better legal counsel early on.

There were other defense strategies that could have been explored but looks like she plead out early on, probably on the advice of some appointed lawyer with marginal skills.

UsualName · Sep 14, 2022

TreeFrogTrader said:
She needed better legal counsel early on.

There were other defense strategies that could have been explored but looks like she plead out early on, probably on the advice of some appointed lawyer with marginal skills.
More...

it’s hard to believe there’s 12 votes to convict her anywhere in America.

TreeFrogTrader · Sep 14, 2022

UsualName said:
it’s hard to believe there’s 12 votes to convict her anywhere in America.
More...

I am not sure a jury did though.

Looks to me like she plead out.

Poor legal counsel.

Cuddles · Sep 14, 2022

gwb-trading said:
It is a very odd case. But it should be noted that instead of fleeing from her rapist, she killed him with knife while he slept. This is what led to the charges. "Brooks was not an immediate threat because he was asleep when he was stabbed." If Brooks (the rapist) was an immediate threat then she would have not been charged.

The judge in the case was also disturbed by the requirement to pay compensation to the rapist's family -- However under Iowa law if you kill someone (manslaughter, homicide, or murder) then the law states you must pay compensation to the victim's family. In this particular case the "victim" was the rapist.

"Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity."

Very strange situation all around IMO.
More...

not guilty

TreeFrogTrader · Sep 14, 2022

Pieper Lewis GoFundMe soars past $150,000 she must pay estate of accused rapist she killed

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...im-alleged-rapist-zachary-brooks/10372929002/

gwb-trading · Sep 15, 2022

Now up to $250K...

Human Trafficking Victim Raises $250K After Being Forced to Pay Her Rapist’s Estate
https://www.thedailybeast.com/human...r250k-to-pay-off-dollar150k-to-rapists-estate

Cuddles · Sep 15, 2022

gwb-trading said:
It is a very odd case. But it should be noted that instead of fleeing from her rapist, she killed him with knife while he slept. This is what led to the charges. "Brooks was not an immediate threat because he was asleep when he was stabbed." If Brooks (the rapist) was an immediate threat then she would have not been charged.
The judge in the case was also disturbed by the requirement to pay compensation to the rapist's family -- However under Iowa law if you kill someone (manslaughter, homicide, or murder) then the law states you must pay compensation to the victim's family. In this particular case the "victim" was the rapist.

"Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity."

Very strange situation all around IMO.
More...

so the judge didn't really "order it" as fox news peddles in the OP? Merely ass-backwards law (prolly con instituted) w/no room for discretion?

gwb-trading · Sep 16, 2022

Iowa teen ordered to pay her alleged rapist’s family $150,000 is not the first sex trafficking victim penalized for killing their alleged assaulter
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/us/pieper-lewis-sex-trafficking-other-cases-reaj/index.html