On September 13, 2022, Pieper Lewis, 17, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced by Judge Porter to a deferred judgment of five years of probation, meaning that as long as she does not violate the terms of her probation, her record will be expunged. He also ordered her to 600 hours of community service over the next three years and to pay $150,000 in restitution to her alleged trafficker’s family. Lewis plead guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury after the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. She has been held in the Polk County Juvenile Department for the past two years. If Lewis violates any part of her probation, she could face 20 years in prison. Iowa is not one of the states that have safe harbor laws which provide some criminal immunity to sex trafficking victims.
As part of the plea agreement, Lewis testified in a witness statement that she ran away from home in early 2020 to try and escape her abusive, adoptive mother. At only 15, she was sleeping in the hallway of an apartment building when she encountered a neighbor who offered to take her in. That relationship quickly turned violent, so she left and encountered another neighbor, a 28-year-old man, Christopher Brown. Brown took her in and portrayed himself as her boyfriend, but required her to repeatedly have sex with other men in exchange for money.
Brooks, the decedent in this matter, was a sex buyer who allegedly raped Lewis multiple times. On the night of May 31, 2020, Brown told Lewis that she had to stay with Brooks. When she refused, Brown held Lewis at knifepoint and forced her to go to Brooks apartment. When she arrived at Brooks apartment, she hoped he would fall asleep soon so she could leave, but he insisted they take shots of alcohol and smoke marijuana together. When Lewis fell asleep, she awoke to Brooks raping her and asked him to stop, but lost consciousness again. When she awoke, she found Brooks sleeping and realized he had raped her again. She testified, “Without thinking, I immediately grabbed the knife from his nightstand and began stabbing him.” She was arrested the next day and has been held in juvenile detention since.
At the sentencing on September 13, Lewis testified she wished “the events on June 1, 2020, never occurred but to say there is one victim is absurd.” She stated she felt she wasn’t safe and that her life was in danger. As to restitution that Lewis must pay, Judge Porter commented that he had no other choice, and that the restitution is mandatory under Iowa law for those convicted of murder. No charges have been filed against the man that Lewis accused of trafficking her. Lewis’ attorney, furthermore, has commented on potentially appealing the restitution.
Lewis obtained her GED while in juvenile detention. She hopes to accomplish her goals of being a juvenile justice advocate for young people in Iowa. A GoFundMe was started by Lewis’ former teacher to help Lewis raise the money needed to pay restitution. With over 15,000 donors, it currently has close to $500,000 raised. After restitution, the rest of the money will be used to help Lewis pursue college, follow her dreams, and help other young victims of sex trafficking. Lewis’ will spend five years of probation at Fresh Start Women’s Center in Des Moines and will be subjected to GPS tracking.
The CSE Institute is pleased with the decision of Judge Porter to sentence Lewis to probation but frustrated that the Judge did not have discretion to determine whether restitution should have been paid to Brook’s family. Iowa law requires the court to sentence offenders to pay at least $150,000 in restitution when “the offender is convicted of a felony in which the act or acts of the offender caused the death of another person.” It is unjust to uniformly require an allotted amount of restitution for these cases. Lewis’ criminalization is inseparable from her victimization. She was repeatedly raped, physically assaulted, and sex trafficked for money and drugs. Thus, this restitution requirement is unfair, unjust, and fails to allow a judge to thoughtfully incorporate mitigating factors of a crime in their sentencing decisions.
The CSE Institute commends Lewis’ bravery in telling her story. Survivor testimony is essential for changing the narrative of sex trafficking. As a whole, survivors’ voices must be amplified to help victims achieve justice and hold perpetrators accountable.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.