But there was one major problem. Because of Iowa law, Polk County Judge David M. Porter said he could not avoid requiring Pepper Lewis to pay $150,000 to the man’s family. This week, her supporters raised it — and then some. A GoFundMe started by one of Lewis’ former teachers, Leland Schipper, reached the top $400,000 as of Thursday. More than 10,000 donors contributed, mostly in small amounts, raising the amount within days of the teenager’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday. “I am very excited at the prospect of removing this burden from Pieper,” Schipper wrote in an update to the website. Lewis, now 17, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and voluntary wounding in the 2020 slaying of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. In her plea, she laid out a terrifying sequence of events that led up to that night. She said she left an unstable home life and was then taken in by a 28-year-old man. He presented himself as her boyfriend, but forced the then 15-year-old to have sex with men. Brooks, he said, was one of them. She said that after he sexually assaulted her repeatedly between May 30 and June 1, 2020, and then fell asleep, she became enraged. “I suddenly realized that Mr. Brooks had raped me again,” Lewis wrote in her plea. She grabbed a knife from his nightstand and stabbed him dozens of times. Prosecutors did not dispute her claims that she was trafficked, and a Polk County judge wrote that there was evidence that appeared to support her claims. However, no charges have been brought against the man she accused of trafficking her. The Des Moines Police Department did not respond to a Washington Post inquiry about whether investigators looked into her account. Trafficked teen who killed alleged assailant given ‘second chance’ probation In court this week, Lewis faced up to 20 years in prison. But Porter chose probation to be completed at a women’s facility. She also deferred adjudication, meaning if she completes probation, her record will be expunged. “Mrs. Lewis, this is the second chance you asked for,” she said. “I wish you the best of luck.” Watching from the courthouse, Schipper was heartened by the decision. He told the Des Moines Register that he felt the judge made a fair decision, “delivering compassionate justice and using the system for what it should be designed for.” But he was surprised at the payment she was being asked to pay. “I think people are shocked that Iowa has this law like we do about the $150,000,” Schipper told the newspaper. “This is a clear example of where it is completely unfair.” The law states that a person convicted of a felony that results in the death of another person must pay at least $150,000 to the victim’s estate. Matthew Sheeley, one of Lewis’ lawyers, had argued in court that Brooks was more than 51 percent responsible for his death. Because of that, he said, he shouldn’t have to pay. He described the demand as harsh and unusual. “I don’t believe the Iowa Legislature intended to require a 15-year-old girl … to pay her rapist’s estate $150,000,” he said. While acknowledging that Lewis and her supporters would be disappointed, Porter said he had no discretion to forgo restitution. The Des Moines Register noted that it cited a 2017 case in which the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional to require juveniles convicted of manslaughter to make the payment. “This court is presented with no other option than that dictated by the law of this state,” he said. After the hearing, Sheeley told the local NBC affiliate that the judge’s decision was overall a victory and that restitution was not Lewis’ top concern. She said she wanted to get on with her life, adding that she “has her whole life ahead of her. She has all these opportunities in front of her.” Schipper, her former teacher, was eager to lighten the load and was excited that the fundraiser could do it. Lewis’ lawyers told the Register they want to look into the legality of using donation money to pay the restitution. Robert Rigg, a criminal law professor at Drake University School of Law, said it was unclear what steps the court would want Lewis or the fundraiser to take to allow the money to cover the restitution payment. He said the organizers were free to give the money to Lewis but could face obstacles if they tried to make the payment directly from the fund itself. “I would certainly recommend that her counsel take guidance from the court. Then the court could say, ‘This is how we’re going to do this,’” Rigg told The Post. “That way you have a buffer. You act on the direction of a judge and that’s how you cover yourself,” Rigg said. After the first $150,000 paid for the refund, the fund organizer can decide what to do with the rest of the money. Rigg said they could set up a non-profit to donate the money to Lewis or set up a trust in her name “to be distributed towards her health, welfare and education.” In an earlier interview with The Post, Sheeley and another member of Lewis’ defense team, Paul White, described her as full of limitless potential. She dreams of becoming a designer, telling her story and supporting other girls like her. “There’s no doubt in my mind that whatever obstacles come her way, she’s going to step right through them,” Sheeley said. “He’s not going to let anything stand in his way. At my core, that’s how I feel.”
