Stefan Sylvestre was jailed after throwing acid in the face of Katie Piper
Katie Piper has posted a defiant Instagram message in response to the news that her acid attacker could be freed next month as the presenter prepares to debut on Strictly Come Dancing.
The Parole Board said on Friday that a panel is expected to make a decision in ‘the coming weeks’ over Stefan Sylvestre, who has spent nine years in jail after receiving a life sentence.
Sylvestre left Piper partially blind, with severe scarring to much of her body after throwing sulphuric acid at her face on the orders of her former partner.
Today Piper posted a photo on Instagram that reads: ‘When the world says, “give up”, hope whispers, “try it one more time”.’
Ten years after surviving that attack, Piper, 34, is preparing to appear on the BBC show, which is expected to air next month.
Daniel Lynch, an obsessed fan who had a brief relationship with Piper, raped the aspiring model and presenter and ordered Sylvestre to attack her with acid in 2008.
After a trial the following year, Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years at the age of 33.
Sylvestre, then 20, received life with a minimum of six years.


Katie, pictured left leaving BBC studios in March and right in 2009 following the attack, was left blind in one eye. Sylvestre was jailed indefinitely but has now served his minimum sentence

Today Piper posted a defiant message on Instagram, sharing a picture that reads: ‘When the world says “give up”, hope whispers “try it one more time”‘
Both men, of Shepherd’s Bush, west London, admitted GBH.
A Parole Board spokeswoman said: ‘We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has considered the parole review for Stefan Sylvestre and expect to receive the panel’s decision in the coming weeks.
‘We are unable to comment further on the individual details of this case.’
Former beauty queen Katie is now a regular on programmes such as This Morning and Loose Women.


Sylvestre attacked Katie (left, before the attack) on the orders of her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch (right). Lynch was jailed for life

Katie is now a mother-of-two and married to Richard Jams Sutton. She gave birth to Belle Elizabeth in March 2014 and announced the birth of a second daughter in December
She also presented Channel 4 shows Bodyshockers and Never Seen a Doctor.
MPs have introduced stricter sentencing guidelines for acid attacks and anyone who carries out ‘life-changing’ attacks – even if they miss their target or fail to inflict serious harm on their victim – faces life sentences.
It is likely Sylvestre would have faced a longer jail term under the new guidelines.
Last year the ex-boyfriend of Towie star Ferne McCann was jailed for 20 years after he squirted acid across a packed nightclub dancefloor.

Previously Katie shared this adorable picture of her cradling her daughter. She captioned it: ‘Had the best day spending time with both of my girls’

Katie, pictured here with her husband Richard Jams Sutton and daughter Belle Elizabeth, has previously written about her fears her attacker would strike again if he was freed
Arthur Collins, 25, hurled the corrosive liquid across the club in east London during a tit-for-tat gang war and later branded the crime ‘a silly little mistake’.
Acid is to be defined as a ‘highly dangerous weapon’ for the first time in a move that will give judges the power to hand out tougher sentences.
Anyone found carrying acid in public for the second time will be given a minimum six-month jail term while under-18s will be handed a four-month detention and training order.


Katie’s recovery has taken place in the public eye and she is now a successful TV presenter. She has undergone more than 40 surgeries
The guidelines will come into force in June.
Assaults using acid have more than doubled in England since 2012 – up from 183 five years ago to 504 in the year to March 2017. The majority have been in east London.
There were more than 1,800 reports of acid used in murders, robberies and rapes since 2010.
Last year acid was used in 454 crimes, up from 261 the previous year, with almost a third of the attacks carried out in the borough of Newham in east London, the figures show.