- A GoFundMe raised more than $500,000 for a sex trafficking victim.
- Pieper Lewis was ordered to pay $150,000 to the family of her alleged rapist.
A GoFundMe has raised more than $500,000 for the 17-year-old Iowa sex trafficking victim who earlier this week was directed by a judge to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to her alleged rapist's family.
Pieper Lewis pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury on Tuesday in connection to the murder of Zachary Brooks, the 37-year-old man she accused of raping her multiple times, as Insider previously reported.
Polk County District Judge David Porter said on Tuesday that the "court is presented with no other option" but to require her to pay the $150,000, which he said was clear in Iowa law, The Associated Press reported.
The GoFundMe was created by Lewis' former teacher, Leland Schipper, and has raised $521,188 as of Saturday.
"Pieper does not owe that man's family justice. Pieper does not deserve to be financially burdened for the rest of her life because the state of Iowa wrote a law that fails to give judges any discretion as to how it is applied," the message on the fundraiser says. "This law doesn't make sense in many cases, but in this case, it's morally unjustifiable."
The message continues, "A child who was raped, under no circumstances, should owe the rapist's family money."
Two years ago, Lewis was 15 when she stabbed Brooks more than 30 times, The AP reported.
Prosecutors said Lewis was a runaway who slept in the hallways of a Des Moines apartment building before she was forced into sex trafficking by her boyfriend, a 28-year-old man who took her in, per The AP.
Lewis she said she was caught in a sex trafficking arrangement with him and Brooks, The Des Moines Register reported, citing a plea agreement. Her boyfriend told the teen to go to Brooks' home, where Brooks gave her marijuana and alcohol and repeatedly had nonconsensual sex with her while she was unconscious, according to the outlet.
On another occasion, the teen's boyfriend threatened her with a knife to return to Brooks' house to do sexual acts in exchange for $50 worth of weed, per the report.
According to the report, she was given drugs and alcohol again — resulting in her falling asleep. She woke up and found that Brooks was raping her. When he fell asleep, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him to death.
Officials did not deny that Lewis was sexually assaulted and trafficked, The AP reported but noted that Brooks was not alive to prosecute. However, she was given a deferred judgment on each of the two 10-year prison sentences she faced, which means she won't see prison time unless she violates her probation.
The fundraiser, which surpassed its original goal of $200,000, will also cover Lewis' college plans and will help other sex trafficking victims, a recent message update on the site noted.