Acid attack victim Katie Piper's horror as the thug who disfigured her could soon be released after just six years in jail

The man who carried out a horrific acid attack that scarred TV presenter Katie Piper for life could be released after just six years in jail. Stefan Sylvestre, 27, is now up for parole after being sentenced to indefinite detention in 2009 for carrying out the attack ordered by her jealous ex-boyfriend David Lynch. The attack left Katie Piper blind in one eye and she had had to endure years of surgery, with more than 40 operations. In her autobiography, she talked of the moment she heard that he was seeking parole, saying it was 'hard to believe' that it had been six years since he was jailed.

She wrote:

 'The two of them had taken so much from me, and now this man's punishment might soon be over.

'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".'

         Photo: Before attack

Sylvestre was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection in 2009, meaning he would not be released until he was no longer deemed a threat to the pubic. His minimum tariff has already been served and he was due for a parole review in 2014 but he has still not been released.

The Parole Board confirmed that the review is currently ongoing, adding that the process can often be a lengthy one. Judges gave Lynch a minimum of 16 years but Sylvestre may serve just six as it emerged that his legal team hope to convince the parole board he is no longer a danger to the public.

                                Photo:  Stefan Sylvestre, 27, is now up for parole

Justice campaigner and retired police officer Norman Brennan told The Mirror that Sylvestre is likely to be released 'if he behaved himself in prison'. Katie Piper, a mum of one, is said to be scared that Sylvestre will come after her again after writing about the moment she found out he could be released in her book. In the autobiography, Beautiful Ever After, she wrote how she told her father:

 'I wish I'd been burned in a house fire or a car accident.

'At least a fire wouldn't come after me again, at least a fire wouldn't have a score to settle.' 

Katie, now 31, was just 24 when her ex-boyfriend Danny Lynch organized for a man to throw industrial-strength sulphuric acid in her face. 

                                    Photo: David Lynch

At the time, her modelling career was taking off and she had recently been crowned Miss Winchester in a beauty pageant. She had also begun presenting on small digital television channels, primarily shopping channels, and decided to leave her parents' home in Hampshire for the capital. It was here she met Lynch - a martial arts enthusiast - who had been tracking her media and modelling career closely. He approached her on Facebook and the pair decided to meet up in person in Reading, where Katie was working at the time. 

                         Photo: Katie Piper recovering from the acid attack

But two weeks into the relationship, the couple booked into a hotel in Bayswater following a meal out, where Lynch raped, beat her and stabbed her several times in the arms. After eight hours in the hotel they drove back to her flat in Golders Green and she later sought medical treatment, though she was too scared to tell doctors what had really happened.

                                                   Photo: Before the attack

 Two days later, he persuaded her to go into an internet cafe to read an email he had sent to her Facebook account, where outside her flat she was approached by a man in a hoodie. She thought the man - Stefan Sylvestre, who Lynch hired to carry out the attack - was going to ask for money but instead he threw the liquid in her face.

She said:

 'When the large cupful of acid hit my smooth, soft, line-free skin, trickling down my throat and partially blinding me, he almost succeeded in extinguishing the last of the old Katie. Almost.

'In the aftermath, I was horrified by my own reflection, barely recognising the image of myself in the mirror. I would play back memories of all the relationships I'd ever had, trying to ingrain in my mind what it felt like to hold hands, to kiss.

'I was sure I'd never be attractive to anyone again, never be intimate. Never be loved.'

The attack was caught on CCTV and both Lynch and Sylvestre were arrested and given two life sentences - Lynch will serve a minimum of 16 years. But Katie has used her injury to raise awareness of the battle burns victims face and has taken part in a number of documentaries and written her autobiography. But in it, she talked of the moment she heard that :

'It was hard to believe that the man who threw acid in my face had already served almost six years of his life sentence, or that he was eligible to apply for a change in the terms of his ­imprisonment.

'Dad reached for my hand and I could see tears falling from his cheeks. I knew I'd upset him but I couldn't stop crying or shouting.

'There's nothing I can do! Nothing anyone can do. No one's going to listen to me and put them away for ever until I become a news story: 'Acid girl killed by attackers'.

'I turned to Dad. 'I wish I'd been burned in a house fire or a car accident,' I said. 'At least a fire wouldn't come after me again, at least a fire wouldn't have a score to settle'.'

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