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A former Des Moines teen, who killed her alleged sex trafficker, is now mandated to serve up to 20 years in connection with the case
- Volume 82 Magazine
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
An Iowa court ruling is under scrutiny concerning Pieper Lewis, a 21-year-old who was sex trafficked as a teen. Last week, Judge David M. Porter sentenced Pieper to 20 years in connection with the stabbing death of her alleged sex trafficker, Zachary Brooks, which occurred in 2020 when she was just 15 years old.
She was initially sentenced to probation, five years of GPS tracking, and was ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to Brooks' family after taking a plea deal in 2022.
Last week, the courts revoked her probation and decided that Pieper would serve two consecutive ten-year sentences for manslaughter and willful injury, to which she pleaded guilty to in 2022 as part of a plea bargain.
The factors leading to the revocation of her probation included her disappearance in April 2024 after leaving a treatment center in Atlanta, due to safety concerns. According to The Des Moines Register, her attorneys indicated that after she left the Georgia facility, Pieper became homeless before finding housing and support at a local YMCA in Louisville, Kentucky.
During her initial trial, Pieper asserted that she was a homeless teen when she became involved with a man named Christopher Brown, who forced her to have sex with multiple men before eventually passing her to his friend, Zachary Brooks, who was 37. She claimed that Brown led her to believe they were in a relationship before forcing her to go with Brooks, whom she later killed. The former teen stated that Brooks forced her to have sex with him multiple times at knifepoint before the killing.
The courts argued that because the then-15-year-old killed her trafficker as he slept, she was not in immediate danger. Therefore, many members of the public questioned whether the court treated Pieper as a "minor" and a "victim" of sex trafficking.
The courts also received significant criticism for requiring the then-teenager to pay restitution under these circumstances. Leland Schipper, one of her former high school teachers, created a GoFundMe campaign to help pay off her restitution and provide assistance for her education and relocation after trial.
The University of Iowa's Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice published an article titled "The Story of Pieper Lewis: Punishing a Victim for Fighting Back." This piece examines why the then-teenager was not protected under self-defense, safe harbor laws, or defense of habitation, particularly considering her status as a trafficking victim and the criminal liability she faced.
During a recorded phone call from Polk County Jail, obtained by The Des Moines Register, Pieper explained that various factors contributed to her failure to comply with her probation. She noted, "A lot of factors came into play." Pieper mentioned that a lack of a support, not taking her medication, feeling unsafe, and being confined to a single room reminded her of her "past life" as a trafficking victim.
In response to her probation being revoked, she explained, "I did not charge my ankle monitor.... I lost my ankle monitor charger.... I didn't have a stable place to stay. And I didn't contact my probation officer.
During her initial trial, she shared that her “spirit” had been “burned” by numerous life challenges, including the loss of a parent and experiences of “abuse.” During last week’s hearing, she once again shared dark reflections about her life, she said, “In survival mode... I did not make the right decisions.”
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