Pieper Lewis, Iowa teen who killed alleged rapist, jailed after escape
Pieper Lewis, the Iowa teen who went missing after escaping a probation center where she was serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter and willful injury, has been found.
According to the Associated Press, Lewis, 18, was being held in an Iowa jail as of Tuesday. A corrections department spokesperson told the Associated Press that Lewis was found in Des Moines.
Lewis was a 15-year-old runaway and victim of human trafficking who was initially charged with first-degree murder after stabbing accused rapist Zachary Brooks to death in June 2020. Lewis pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in 2021. Each charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, but the sentences were deferred.
Instead, Polk County District Judge David M. Porter sentenced Lewis to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered her to pay $150,000 in restitution to Brooks' family. At the time of her sentencing, Porter warned Lewis that any probation violation could result in her having to serve up to 20 years in prison.
"The next five years of your life will be full of rules you disagree with, I'm sure of it," Porter said at the time, later calling the sentence "the second chance that (Lewis) asked for."
At the time of her escape, Lewis was at the Fresh Start Women's Center in Iowa. Jerry Evans, the executive director for the 5th Judicial District, told CBS News at the time that Lewis had cut off an electronic tracking device. Evans also told CBS News that a probation violation report for Lewis was filed Friday, recommending "revocation of her probation."
At this time, it's unclear what punishment Lewis will face. According to the Associated Press, she will be taken before a judge for a probation revocation hearing, which could result in her being sentenced to prison.
