He maimed me but now he’s free and that’s hard, says acid-attack Katie
ACID attack victim Katie Piper told yesterday how she is struggling “to come to terms” with the decision to free the man who maimed her for life.
The model and TV host, now rehearsing for BBC’s hit show Strictly Come Dancing, told fans: “This is a really difficult time for me. It is something I need to deal with.”
Katie, 34, spoke after the Parole Board confirmed the imminent release of Stefan Sylvestre after nine years behind bars.
The thug attacked Katie in a street in Golders Green, north London, in 2008 on the orders of her obsessive ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch.
Blinded in one eye, Katie was horribly scarred and has since had 40 operations to rebuild her face. Sylvestre, 30, of Shepherd’s Bush, west London, was jailed for life at Wood Green Crown Court, north London, and ordered to serve a minimum of six years in jail.
Katie made a plea in person to the Parole Board panel considering Sylvestre’s application for release. During an oral hearing, she read statements describing the dreadful and enduring impact of the attack on her life. But is was not enough to halt Sylvestre’s release.
The Parole Board summary said: “The panel took full account of the content of these statements and the supporting documentation.”
It said that Sylvestre, who was 19 at the time of the attack, had “displayed empathy for the victim and expressed remorse and shame for his actions”.
Writing on Twitter, Katie said rehearsing for Strictly had given her “a welcome and positive distraction” from her past, she said.
In her moving autobiography, Katie wrote of Sylvestre: “I thought, ‘I’m the one with the life sentence. Not him’. He can change his identity, change his name, get a new job, a partner, move on, but I can’t. I can’t pretend it didn’t happen because it’s all over my face.”
The Ministry of Justice offered its “heartfelt sympathies” to Katie but added the release was a matter for the Parole Board.
Lynch, 42, was also jailed for life and told he must serve at least 16 years.