Iowa teen appeals court order to pay restitution to family of alleged rapist
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Court documents show an Iowa teen is appealing a court order to pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of the man she said raped and trafficked her.
The restitution is part of 17-year-old Pieper Lewis’ sentence for killing Zachary Brooks.
Iowa law says anyone convicted of causing the death of another person has to pay at least $150,000 to the victim’s estate, but Lewis’ attorneys argue the restitution for Brooks’ family is an “illegal sentence.”
They say this is because Brooks was identified as a person responsible for human-trafficking her for sex. Lewis pleaded guilty to killing Brooks two years ago in Des Moines.
A GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $561,000 for Lewis.
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