A teenage sex trafficking victim from Iowa, US who stabbed her rapist to death was sentenced by a judge on Tuesday September 14, to five years of closely supervised probation and must pay $150,000 restitution to her abuser's family.
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 but last year, Lewis pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury, both of which were punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
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."
"I am a survivor," she continued.
Prosecutors say Lewis shouldn't have labeled herself a survivor, claiming she failed to take responsibility for Brooks' death and left his children without a father.
The judge asked Lewis to explain the poor choices she made that led to the stabbing and noted that she sometimes did not wish to follow rules in juvenile detention.
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 but last year, Lewis pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury, both of which were punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
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."
"I am a survivor," she continued.
Prosecutors say Lewis shouldn't have labeled herself a survivor, claiming she failed to take responsibility for Brooks' death and left his children without a father.
The judge asked Lewis to explain the poor choices she made that led to the stabbing and noted that she sometimes did not wish to follow rules in juvenile detention.