The rapist stalker who orchestrated the horrific acid attack on TV star Katie Piper is making his first bid for freedom.
Daniel Lynch, now 50, was jailed for life in 2009 for arranging the sickening assault that left the then 24-year-old model and presenter with devastating burns and blind in one eye.
A judge at the time branded his crime an act of ‘pure, calculated and deliberate evil’.
The violent and obsessive rapist has now served the minimum 16 years of his life sentence and will be considered for parole for the first time.
After a series of delays – a three-day hearing has been listed to begin this week, the Parole Board confirmed.
It is not known if mother-of-two Katie, 42, will attend the hearing though it is likely that a statement detailing the impact of his crimes upon her will be put before the panel, who will assess whether it is safe for Lynch to return to society.
The Loose Women panellist was aged 24 when Lynch plotted the attack in March 2008 following the breakdown of their relationship.
He enlisted teenager Stefan Sylvestre, then 19, to throw sulphuric acid at her face as she walked along a street in Golders Green, north London.
Katie Piper (pictured) was aged 24 when Daniel Lynch plotted the attack in March 2008 following the breakdown of their relationship that left the d model and presenter with devastating burns and blind in one eye
Lynch (pictured), now 50, was jailed for life in 2009 for arranging the sickening assault that left the then 24-year-old model and presenter with devastating burns and blind in one eye
The horrifying assault left Katie needing hundreds of operations after being left with severe burns and life-changing injuries.
She has appeared in documentaries about her recovery – including a landmark 2009 film ‘Katie: My Beautiful Face’ – and competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.
In 2023, Katie said: ‘I’m 40 this year. Am I going to die in the next 10 years?
‘I don’t actually know. The people that attacked me will be released. Are they going to kill me? I’m not sure.’
In her book Still Beautiful she added: ‘What was left of my face after the acid had melted away my features was removed and unceremoniously dumped in a medical waste bin.’
Lynch was found guilty of rape and grievous bodily harm at Wood Green Crown Court in March 2009 and admitted actual bodily harm.
Sylvester was jailed for life with a minimum of six years for grievous bodily harm. He was released in 2018 on licence and is believed to be living abroad after absconding.
At their sentencing judge Nicholas Browne said: ‘[Katie] had a face of pure beauty. You, Danny Lynch and Stefan Sylvestre, represent the face of pure evil.’
In her victim impact statement, read at court, 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. A part of me has died that will never come back. This is worse than death.’
Last year, Katie told The Times of her ‘resilience’ and how she wrote ‘the rule book for me’ in the wake of the acid attack.
She said: ‘I came to public attention as a news story, as a victim of a violent crime.
‘I hope, 17 years on, I’m doing something different, but I think it’s probably unfair of me to say, “I don’t want to talk about the burns and the attack any more.”
‘I think it’s more that I don’t want to attribute my success [since] to that man’s actions against me.
‘It’s almost as if talking about the attack is attributing what I have achieved to his actions rather than my own resilience, my own professional achievements or my own choices in the aftermath.
‘I don’t want the attack to be a noose around my neck. I’m not just a campaigner.
‘If I’m seen on Loose Women laughing about something entirely different, or presenting a totally different show, the public starts to accept visibly different people doing lots of different things. And that is when inclusion and acceptance happen.
‘When I was burnt, there was no way society thought I’d get married or be a leader. At best, I’d lead a life dependent on my parents; I’d have a mediocre existence.
‘Disfigured faces weren’t high achievers and they definitely weren’t sexy, safe or kind. I couldn’t look to anyone else to emulate or follow. There wasn’t anyone. I had to write the rule book for me.
‘When I was in hospital, my peer group was getting engaged or trying for kids, just succeeding. And I felt powerless. I do feel more powerful now.’
A Parole Board spokesman said: ‘The Parole Board is an independent body whose members make judicial decisions on whether people who have committed serious offences or are assessed as potentially dangerous need to stay in prison for the protection of the public.
‘The parole process is focussed solely on risk, and public protection is always our key consideration.’