A sex trafficking victim who murdered her alleged rapist has escaped from a residential corrections facility where she was serving probation.
As reported by CNN, Pieper Lewis, 18, was booked into the Polk County Jail on November 1, and three days later, she "walked away from the Fresh Start Women’s Center" in Des Moines after cutting off her electronic monitoring tracking device.
Jerry Evans, the district’s executive director, told the outlet her "whereabouts are unknown," and that officials have filed a probation violation report recommending her probation be revoked as well as a warrant for her arrest.
According to the Independent, Polk County District Attorney John Sarcone said that a probation revocation hearing will be scheduled so a judge can decide what the consequences for Lewis's violations will be.
Lewis was 15 years old when she killed Zachary Brooks, 37, who she says forced her to drink alcohol, intoxicating substances and raped her multiple times. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury.
In addition to her deferred judgment, in September, an Iowa judge ordered Lewis to pay $150,000 to his family in restitution, as required by Iowa law.
She was initially charged with first-degree murder because the prosecution argued that she killed her alleged rapist while he didn't pose a threat to her, as he was sleeping.
However, the judge sentenced Lewis to five years of supervised probation, acknowledging the two years she already spent at a juvenile facility and the brutality she experienced.
Furthermore, Judge David Porter ruled that the teen would receive five years probation, serve 200 hours of community service and pay an additional $4,000 in civil penalties. The deferred judgment also meant that it could be erased from Lewis' record.
Lewis' sentence was a controversial talking point on social media after she was ordered to pay $150,000 in compensation to Brooks's family.
A GoFundMe page was set up by her former math teacher Leland Schipper, to help her cover legal costs as well as other expenses. She earned the support of several people across the country as her donations were amassed to $562,162.
"Pieper has five years of probation ahead of her; five years that she will be required to be nearly perfect to avoid facing 20 years in prison. She will do hundreds of hours of community service each year," Schipper wrote.
"She will be subject to drug testing, required to take classes and attend therapy. Pieper’s path to true freedom will not be easy, and she is still a teenager that has experienced a lot of trauma," he added.
Following Lewis' escape, she could end up facing around two decades in jail for the alleged probation violation, according to KCCI-TV.