In addition, the young woman was sentenced to a suspended sentence of five years and community service. Many people showed their solidarity online and donated to the young woman.
According to a former teacher and local media, the Iowa girl ran away from home in 2020 at the age of 15. A man then took her in and forced her into prostitution. As the young woman said, a 37-year-old paid to rape her several times before stabbing the man to death.
The 17-year-old was initially charged with murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. If convicted, she would have faced 20 years in prison.
The police and prosecutors did not deny that the girl was a victim of sexual exploitation. The judge responsible said that he wanted to give the young woman a “second chance” with the suspended sentence. He had to impose the fine in view of the applicable legal situation. A law in Iowa provides that relatives of murder victims must be compensated.
The 17-year-old’s former teacher described the law as “morally unjustifiable” and started a fundraiser for the young woman. “A child who has been raped should under no circumstances owe money to the rapist’s family.” The fundraiser on the Gofundme website had raised almost $390,000 as of Thursday (local time). In addition to paying the fine, the money should also be used for the education of the 17-year-olds.
Source: Nachrichten
