Katie Piper’s attacker Stefan Sylvestre was recalled to prison (Picture: Getty Images/Met Police)
The man who attacked Katie Piper with acid in 2008 fled the UK in August, police have said, as they warn people to stay away from him after he was recalled to prison.
Stefan Sylvestre, who was an accomplice of Piper’s ex-boyfriend, attacked the TV presenter in 2008, throwing sulphuric acid in her face and leaving her with severe burns and blind in one eye.
Piper, 38, almost lost her life and spent agonising months in intensive care, undergoing multiple surgeries for facial disfigurement, some of which are ongoing to this day.
Sylvestre received a life sentence in 2009 for the attack and was told he must serve a minimum of six years before he would be eligible for parole.
He was released in 2018 at the age of 30. However, he has now been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions and the police are working to locate him.
Sharing an updated statement on Monday, the Met Police said: ‘Police were notified on Friday, 23 September, that Stefan Sylvestre, 34 (02.06.88), had been recalled to prison. His last known address was in north London.
Sylvestre has been recalled to prison (Picture: Metropolitan Police)
‘Enquiries undertaken so far indicate that Sylvestre left the UK on Tuesday, 2 August.
‘Officers from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command continue to work with partner agencies to locate and arrest him. Sylvestre should not be approached.’
Piper is now a successful author, TV personality and activist (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
A Probation Service spokeswoman previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘We are urgently working with the police to bring the offender back to prison where he’ll face longer behind bars.’
Piper’s ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch orchestrated the acid attack and arranged for Sylvestre to throw the corrosive liquid in March 2008.
Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years for sexually assaulting Piper and telling Sylvestre to carry out the attack.
Piper had dated the martial arts fan briefly but he became obsessively jealous during their short relationship.
In court, Lynch and Sylvestre were told by Judge Nicholas Browne QC they were ‘the face of pure evil’.
Now a successful author, activist and TV personality, Piper has been open about the impact the horrific attack has had on her life.
She has spent years raising awareness for facial disfigurements and later released a documentary, Katie Piper: My Beautiful Face to tell her story.
Reflecting on the attack in August, Piper said on ITV’s Loose Women that it ‘feels like two different lives’ – the time before she was burned and the time after.
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Piper was left with severe burns and blind in one eye after the horrific attack.