A sex-trafficking victim, who at age of 15 killed her alleged rapist, escaped custody on Friday, violating the probation she was ordered to serve at a correctional facility in Iowa. According to a report published in the Associated Press, the teenager was seen walking out of the building at the Fresh Start Women's Center in Des Moines shortly after 6:15 am on Friday.

Pieper Lewis, now 18, was sent to a correction centre and was ordered to pay $150,000 to Zachary Brooks' family over his murder in 2020 in Des Moines. Last year, she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and wilful injury. The jail time for both charges is 10 years. However, now that she has violated the probation terms, Pieper could be jailed for 20 years if found guilty. US Shooting: Gunman Opens Fire at High School in St Louis, Three Including Suspect Killed.

Under the terms of her probation, the judge ordered her to be placed in a residential facility. She must wear a tracking device in the centre. Her GPS went off some point in the day when she escaped the facility. While giving the judgment, the judge had told Pieper "this is the second chance that you've asked for. You don't get a third." Mexico Shocker: ‘Dead Girl’ Wakes Up at Her Funeral, Dies Hours Later.

In 2020, Pieper was sleeping in a hallway after fleeing an abusive home when a man took her in and trafficked her to others for sex. She told the court one of them was Brooks and that he had raped her many times. Pieper, in the same year, stabbed 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, a married father of two more than 30 times. Following her pleading guilty, according to an Iowa 1997 law, she was forced to pay $150,000 to Brooks' family. The judge had alluded to the nature of the payment but upheld the judgment saying the Iowa law forces the court to order Pieper to make payments.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 07, 2022 12:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).