Who is Stefan Sylvestre and how long was Katie Piper’s acid attacker in prison for?
STEFAN Sylvestre was just 19 years-old when he was jailed for throwing acid at former model, Katie Piper back in 2008.
Under orders from Katie’s ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, Sylvestre carried out the callous attack which left his victim with permanent facial and body scarring.
Who is Stefan Sylvestre?
Stefan Sylvestre was jailed in 2008 when he was just 19 years old – after throwing acid at former model, Katie Piper.
He carried out the attack on the orders of her jealous ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch, 39 – who is serving a minimum of 16 years in prison.
Lynch cannot be considered for release until 2025.
Sylvestre hurled sulphuric acid at Katie Piper in Golders Green, North London – leaving Katie partially blind and with severe scarring to her upper body.
Katie underwent 40 face operations to rebuild her face.
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 – Katie Piper told the Loose Women panel her Life Before Loose story.
She spoke of how her world changed drastically after the acid attack which left her disfigured and recalled the abuse she endured during her recovery.
Katie also spoke fondly of happy childhood growing up in Hampshire, her teenage rebellious years and moving to London.
Talking to panellists Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan and Janet Street-Porter, Katie said: ”When I look back on it and reflect, it does feel like two separate lives.
“I’m 38, but I sort of feel in my 70s or 80s.
”Because what’s happened to me, I’ve condensed so much into such a short period, and that happen to some people in their whole lifetime.
”In some ways you can take that as a positive – life experiences enrich us, they build our character and we can go onto use that in our future, but in other ways it was a lot.
”It took its toll on me mentally and physically. Some of the physical changes are still ongoing in my medical journey.”
How long was Katie Piper’s acid attacker sentenced to prison for?
Sylvestre was given a life sentence with a minimum of six years in 2008 for the attack and spent a decade in prison.
He became eligible for parole in 2015 but his application was blocked after he was deemed unfit for release.
A later parole application in 2018 was successful and he was released from Highpoint jail, Suffolk, on Wednesday, October 10 – he was then driven 70 miles south by police to a bail hostel in London.
The parole board ruled that Sylvestre no longer posed a significant threat and noted a “behaviour change” in the attacker.
A source told The Sun: “Sylvestre’s licence conditions include an exclusion zone which bars him from an area around Katie’s address.
“But although Sylvestre is banned from contacting Katie in any way, the simple fact that he’s back in London will be of great concern to her.”
However, he was later jailed again in 2019 for a different offence.
On March 12, 2020 – he appeared via video-link at City of London Magistrates’ Court from HMP Pentonville.
Sylvestre didn’t deny that he was driving the vehicle but instead claimed that he had permission from his recruitment consultant at McGinley – the company where he was working.
However, due to an error by the prosecution, after they revealed they had misplaced the timesheets which would provide important evidence – Sylvestre was cleared of 16 charges of taking a motor vehicle without consent.
In 2020, a parole board panel gave the green light for his release.
On October 10, 2022, police announced they were once again searching for Sylvestre and that a manhunt is underway after he recently breached his licence and was recalled back to prison.
A Probation Service spokeswoman said on Sunday: “We are urgently working with the police to bring the offender back to prison where he’ll face longer behind bars.”