Katie Piper’s acid attacker set to be released from jail as parole board clears thug to be freed

KATIE Piper’s acid attacker is set to be released from jail.

Stefan Sylvestre, 31, left Katie scarred for life after hurling sulphuric acid in her face in 2008.

He was given a minimum six-year life term in 2009 after the attack in north London, on the orders of her obsessive ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch.

Sylvestre was initially released from Highpoint prison, Suffolk, in October 2018.

But he was sent back months later over a string of car thefts and making threats of violence.

He was then cleared of the allegations and a parole board panel has now ruled that he can go free again.

The board said: “After considering the circumstances of his offending and time on licence, the outcomes of the court proceedings, the progress made while in custody and other evidence, the panel was satisfied Mr Sylvestre was suitable for re-release.”

Katie, 36, was left blind in one eye and suffered severe burns to most of her face after the attack.

She had numerous skin graft procedures and was forced to wear a plastic face mask for up to 23 hours a day.

In a victim statement at the time she said: “When the acid was thrown at me, it felt like I was burning in hell.

“It was an indescribable, unique, torturous pain.

“I have lost my future, my career, my spirit, my body, my looks, my dignity – the list goes on.

“All I am left with is an empty shell. A part of me has died that will never come back.

“This is worse than death.”

The former Strictly star has also said it hugely impacted her psychologically causing serious anxiety and depression.

She launched the Katie Piper Foundation to campaign for more specialist help for burns victims.

In 2008 Katie started dating David Lynch but two weeks in she started having doubts.

He later tricked her into leaving her flat where his accomplice Sylvestre threw acid in her face.

She was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and was put in an induced coma for 12 days.

Sylvestre was sentenced to a minimum six-year life term while Lynch was subsequently given two life terms.

Lynch, 44, cannot be considered for release until 2025.

Almost 50 acid attack crimes take place in England and Wales every week.

Only 100 chemical attacks were recorded between 2007 and 2011 but there were 2,602 from 2015 to 2018.

These include actual assaults plus the ­corrosive chemical’s involvement in threats, blackmail, incidents in schools and even rape.