Katie Piper tells of terror as she learns her cruel acid attack plotter Daniel Lynch may soon be considered for release after serving 16 years
- Lynch was given a 16-year minimum term and jailed for life for the attack in 2009
A rapist who plotted a cruel acid attack on Loose Women star Katie Piper could be released after serving just 16 years in prison.
Daniel Lynch was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years for the violence inflicted on Ms Piper when she was just 24 years old, and could become considered for release as he nears the end of his term, the Mirror reports.
The mum-of-two was brutally raped by the steroid-fuelled martial arts expert in a hotel room when she tried to leave their two-week-old relationship in March 2008.
He then obsessively stalked her before ordering then 19-year-old Stefan Sylvestre to throw sulphuric acid on her face, leaving her with severe burns and in need of 400 operations.
Ms Piper, who is now 39, has since spoken out about the prospect of the man behind the attack being released.
Katie Piper, pictured here on Loose Women on September 21, has previously spoken out about the potential release of the man behind the acid attack on her
Daniel Lynch, pictured here in a police mugshot, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years for the violence inflicted on Ms Piper
Ms Piper has been open about the effect the vile attack has had on her life, waving her automatic right to anonymity as a survivor of rape in 2009.
The Parole Board told the Mirror: 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released.'
Lynch received a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of rape, GBH and ABH at Wood Green Crown Court in 2009.
His co-conspirator, Sylvestre, who threw the acid at Ms Piper, admitted GBH and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years.
He was released in 2018 but was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions. Police have since said they believe he has fled the country.
Passing sentence against the pair, Judge Nicholas Browne QC said: '(The victim) had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil. The facts of this case are chilling and shocking.
'You planned and then executed an act of pure, calculated and deliberate evil.
'You decided to wreck the victim's life by thrusting a full container of sulphuric acid straight into her face from point- blank range.'
Ms Piper was attacked in Golders Green, north London in 2008.
She had dated Lynch briefly before steroid-fuelled martial arts fan Lynch, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, became obsessively jealous.
The model and TV presenter had to wear a mask after the attack and needed 400 operations to treat her severe burns in a long and painstaking process which included pioneering surgery which completely removed the damaged skin from her face and replaced it with a substitute.
Stefan Sylvestre, pictured here in his police mugshot, was jailed for life with a minimum term of six years for throwing acid on Katie Piper
Katie Piper (pictured left in 2009 and right in 2022) was left with horrific injuries after Stefan Sylvestre, then 19, threw acid at her in 2008
The Loose Women panellist explained how NHS surgeons rebuilt her face 'from a cow' with the use of 'pioneering' skin graft.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly and her daughter, Rosie, on their What if? Podcast, she said: 'My burn went through the muscle and down to the skeleton, so it was a very, very deep burn.
'Because it's a corrosive substance, you think with fire you can put it out and maybe minimise the damage, but with me all four layers of the skin were destroyed.
'This foundation is made from collagen and elastin taken from a cow. Queue all the moody cow jokes! My face is made out of a cow,' she laughed.
Going into detail she explained: 'What I had to do was have all of my old face removed because the tissue was dead and would have gotten infected.'
She then detailed how her entire face was reconstructed using other parts of her body as doctors took a large skin graft from her mid back to her bottom.
In July 2019, 12 years after the attack, she had further surgery to cauterize the blood vessels in her left eye. She was again taken to hospital for emergency surgery in August this year after she was left in 'extreme pain' and her husband Richard Sutton noticed a black spot in her eye.
In her heart-rending victim impact statement in the aftermath of the attack, Katie 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.'
Since the attack Katie has rebuilt her life and this year she was awarded an OBE for charity and burns services in the New Year Honours
Since the ordeal Katie has rebuilt her life, featuring on numerous TV shows, including a 2009 documentary about the impact of the attack. She also featured on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 (pictured)
Since the ordeal Katie has rebuilt her life, featuring on numerous TV shows, including a 2009 documentary about the impact of the attack.
She chose to give up her anonymity in order to increase awareness about burn victims through the Channel 4 documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face, which gained more than 3.3 million views.
She also took part in the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.
Katie revealed that she was subjected to callous abuse during her time on the show.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, she said: 'I got some really horrible abuse, it was awful. I was told 'You look like a monster' by someone one night. It's so cruel. Then someone else said, 'Thank goodness for make-up.'
The mother-of-two said another mocked the fact she is 75 per cent blind in one eye. 'Someone said to me, 'Are you sure you're not blind in both eyes, not just one? Because you definitely dance like you are.'
'These people seem to forget I'm a human. I just wanted to scream back, 'I know I can't dance!' '
While she found the attacks distressing, the 35-year-old said she enjoyed her time on the show and added: 'I am just so glad to be alive.'
In 2009, when she was still in the early stages of recovery, she launched the Katie Piper Foundation to raise awareness for other victims of burns and other disfigurement attacks and injuries.
The charity also campaigns for the specialist treatment Piper received, such as the after-care scheme undertaken in France, to be more widely available to patients in Britain.
In 2022 she was awarded an OBE for charity and burns services in the New Year Honours.
