Man who arranged acid attack on Katie Piper could be released on parole in July | UK news

The man who orchestrated the acid attack on model and TV presenter Katie Piper could be released on parole next month.

Daniel Lynch, a former boyfriend of Piper, was convicted five years ago of arranging for Stefan Sylvestre to throw sulfuric acid in her face in March 2008, causing her to lose sight in one eye.

In May 2009, Lynch was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years by London’s Wood Green Crown Court for raping Piper and ordering Sylvestre to pour acid on her.

Sylvestre was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of six years in 2009 and released on parole in 2018. In 2022, he was sent back to prison for breaching the terms of his parole and police issued an arrest warrant after it was believed he had left the UK.

A parole board spokesman confirmed Sunday that Lynch will have a closed hearing on July 23 and 24.

A parole hearing is granted when there is a “realistic prospect” of release or transfer to an open prison is being considered. Victims can submit personal statements and the decision can be appealed.

Lynch had previously been convicted of pouring boiling water on a man. She is said to have become compulsively jealous after a brief relationship with Piper before the attack. Piper suffered severe injuries and permanent scarring. She had to undergo hundreds of operations to repair the damage to her face and eyesight.

Judge Nicholas Browne KC told him and Sylvestre that they had “planned and carried out an act of pure, calculated and premeditated evil”.

After the trial, Piper, now 40, waived her right to anonymity as a rape victim and her recovery was featured in a Channel 4 documentary. She later founded the Katie Piper Foundation to support burn victims.

In her victim impact statement, Piper said: “When the acid was thrown on me, it felt like I was burning in hell. It was an indescribable, unique, excruciating pain. I lost my future, my career, my mind, my body, my looks, my dignity… the list goes on. All I have left is an empty shell. A part of me has died that will never come back. This is worse than death.”