Hearing for Iowa teen who killed rapist moved to January

Pieper Lewis gives her allocution during a sentencing hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Lewis, who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death in June 2020, was sentenced to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Des Moines Register via AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has set a hearing for January to consider whether to order prison for an 18-year-old sex-trafficking victim who killed her rapist in Iowa and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury.

Pieper Lewis was sentenced on Sept. 13 to probation for five years to be served at a Des Moines women’s shelter, but less than two months later she walked away. She was arrested five days later and taken to jail.

Judge David Porter had set a hearing for Friday to consider whether to revoke the probation, but after meeting briefly with lawyers, he scheduled a new hearing for Jan. 18.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the hearing was postponed.