A Teen Who Killed Her Accused Rapist Was Told To Pay His Family $150K & Cash Is Pouring In

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An Iowa girl and human trafficking victim has been ordered to pay $150,000 to the family of a man who allegedly raped her after she stabbed him to death at the age of 15.

Pieper Lewis, 17, was sentenced on Tuesday to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution for "leaving his kids without a father," as prosecutors put it.

The incident has triggered widespread outrage, with many supporters banding together to cover her costs via GoFundMe.

Lewis was a runaway, and she was being trafficked for sex at the age of 15 when she killed Zachary Brooks, 37, in 2020, the Associated Press reports.

Lewis has said in court that Brooks raped her multiple times and that he once did so at knifepoint. She says she grabbed that knife from the bedside table and stabbed him multiple times in a rage.

"She stabbed this man multiple times, and the reason she did that was because she was put in a human trafficking situation," Lewis' lawyer said at the sentencing hearing, per the New York Times.

Lewis was originally charged with first-degree murder, but she pleaded guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury. Those charges are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, per AP.

A judge on Tuesday decided to defer the prison sentence, but he said he had "no other option" but to order the hefty payment because restitution is mandatory under Iowa law.

Although prosecutors haven't disputed whether Lewis was raped, they argued that Brooks was asleep at the time he was killed and was no immediate danger to Lewis.

While her prison sentence was deferred, Lewis must serve five years of probation, including living in a designated residential facility and performing 600 hours of community service. Should she violate the conditions of her probation, she could face jail time.

"Well, Ms. Lewis, this was the second chance you asked for," the judge said to Lewis in court, reported the Des Moines Register. "You don't get a third. Do you understand that?"

Before she was officially sentenced, Lewis was given a chance to provide a statement during which she said she was also a victim in the case.

"I wish that never happened but to say there's only one victim in the story is absurd," said Lewis.

"My story can change things. My story has changed me. The events that took place on that horrific day cannot be changed as much as I wish I could. That day, a combination of complicated actions took place, resulting in the death of a person, as well as a stolen innocence of a child," per the Des Moines Register.

"I am a survivor," she added in her statement.

Lewis's former school teacher, Leland Schipper, set up a GoFundMe to help her with her $150,000 payment.

Supporters covered that entire amount in less than a day, and the goal has been increased to cover her other costs from the trial. Anything extra will go toward future education for Lewis.

"I am overjoyed with the prospect of removing this burden from Pieper," they wrote. "Give Pieper the financial capacity to explore ways to help other young victims of sex crimes!"