Donations cover a teen's $150K restitution to the family of her alleged rapist

Pieper Lewis, left, speaks with Polk County District Judge David M. Porter during her sentencing hearing on Sept. 13. Donations are pouring in to help Lewis, a 17-year-old sex trafficking victim who was ordered by the court to pay $150,000 to the family of a man she stabbed to death after he raped her. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/AP)

Zach Boyden-Holmes / Zach Boyden-Holmes

A fundraiser for an Iowa teen who was a victim of human trafficking and convicted of killing her rapist has easily surpassed the $150,000 restitution fee she was ordered to pay his family.

As of Thursday, a GoFundMe account set up on behalf of Pieper Lewis has collected more than $400,000 from people who say they’re disgusted by the court-enforced restitution order.

The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury for killing Zachary Brooks in 2020. According to Lewis, Brooks, who was 37 at the time, repeatedly raped her in the weeks before his death. She told the court that eventually, something in her snapped and, in a fit of rage, she stabbed Brooks at least 30 times.