Who is Adele Bellis? Acid victim whose attacker was freed after just two years in jail
A VICTIM of a brutal acid attack has slammed soft sentences after the thug who scarred her for life was freed from jail after just two years.
Adele Bellis was left with permanent scarring, lost her ear and half of her hair when Jason Harrison flung sulphuric acid at her under the orders of her abusive ex-boyfriend.
Who is Adele Berris?
Adele, then 22, was walking through Lowestoft, Suffolk in August 2014 when she noticed a jogger with his face covered “shaking a bottle” as he ran past her.
As she chatted happily to a friend on the phone, she was splashed in the face with acid.
She told Sun Online: “I was just running in and out of traffic and was in so much pain.
“I was burning all over and felt like I was melting to the ground.
“I was shouting ‘I need water, I need water’ but when someone threw some over me, it just made me smoke.”
Her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Riley, 26, had abused her in the six months leading up to the attack.
What happened after she was attacked?
Riley was jailed for life after it emerged he had paid accomplice Jason Harrison, who has now been freed from jail after serving just over half his sentence, to throw acid at Adele.
Adele has now joined calls for tougher sentences to be given to acid attackers as she branded the assaults "worse than murder".
Speaking before a Parliamentary debate on how to tackle acid attacks, she said: "He definitely hasn’t served long enough. The justice system is rubbish.
"I don’t feel I have had justice. I think he should have got more than 10 years at least. He was the one who disfigured me, then ran away, and then hid for eight months until the police found him. And all the time I was in hospital.”
It comes after a shocking assault in London in July 2017 that saw five people seriously injured in a horrific 90-minute acid attack spree.
Adele added to the : "I would say this crime was worse than murder. There were a few times in my recovery when I thought, ‘Why didn’t you kill me?’
“I have not been told where he is, only that he is 200 miles away. When I heard he was coming out I felt vulnerable, helpless. There was nothing I could do. All I can do is try and get on with my life.”
Are acid attacks on the rise?
The number of acid attacks is now on the rise across the UK, with 454 victims last year alone – up from 261 in 2015.
This means two attacks are being carried out every day as thugs switch from guns and knives to avoid tougher sentences.
And alarming figures released earlier this year show London has become a hotspot for acid attacks, with 431 reported in 2016 – up from 261 the previous year.
Adele has been joined in her call for tougher sentences by Naomi Oni, who was attacked by former friend Mary Konye on her way home from her job at a Victoria’s Secret store in South East London in December 2012.
She was left scarred for life after suffering serious burns on her face and chest following the attack over a “trivial, insignificant” argument.
Konye was jailed for 12 years but Naomi said ministers should have acted years ago on controlling the purchase of corrosive products.
A bottle of acid can be bought for just £1 in any DIY store and can be carried around without arousing suspicion.
Thugs who throw acid are usually charged with GBH, rather than wounding with intent, so often get much lower sentences.
Shops currently have to report children or teenagers acting suspiciously when they buy acid or strong household cleaners, but there is no age restriction on its sale.
Naomi told : "People were shocked by what happened to me but the problem wasn’t taken seriously.
"It didn’t feel like I was listened to, which makes it really upsetting to see how many people are being affected now in 2017. There is no one demographic being targeted — it can happen to anybody.
"There should be tough restrictions on who can buy it and at what age. Why isn’t there a licensing system? People who sell it should be selling the most diluted versions, and the people who buy it should have to have a licence. It cannot be right that so many people are walking around scarred by acid.”
Ministers have suggested age verification could be introduced to curb youngsters buying dangerous chemicals, with a debate due to take place in Parliament today.
The Home Office said it would work with police and the Ministry of Justice to assess whether powers available to the courts and sentencing guidelines were sufficient.
