Katie Piper faces months of anxiety after being told that the parole hearing for the stalker who ordered a devastating acid attack on the model has been delayed, can reveal.
Daniel Lynch, a former boyfriend of Piper, had been allocated a private two-day parole hearing on July 23 and 24 and had hoped to be released after spending 15 years in jail.
However, the hearing was unexpectedly adjourned on the eve of the appeal and no new date has yet been set for it. In previous complex cases, adjournments can last for many months.
It is not known why the hearing was delayed, but the nature of the crime and its high profile means that parole bosses may seek extra information from prison offices who deal with Lynch on a daily basis and psychologists who have assessed him.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: ‘The Parole Board cannot comment on individual cases. A panel may adjourn a parole hearing to ensure a comprehensive risk assessment can take place.
‘There are a number of situations where an adjournment may be required, for example more information is required, the prisoner needs more time to complete a course, a witness is not available, or for some other unavoidable reason. The Parole Board does everything it can to avoid these delays.
‘Any decision to adjourn an oral hearing must be recorded in writing with reasons, and that record must be provided to the prisoner and/or their legal representative and the Secretary of State no more than 14 days after the date of that decision.
‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
‘The panel will carefully examine a whole range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as understand the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
‘Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.’
Lynch, now 47, wants to be freed from jail, but if the panel rejects this move, he is asking to be sent to an open prison and a precursor to eventual release.
The three person parole board can also reject the appeal, which will mean Lynch will stay in prison for a further two-years until he is eligible for another hearing.
Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years in May 2009 at London’s Wood Green crown court for the rape of Piper and for telling Sylvestre to throw acid on her.
Stefan Sylvestre, then 19, who threw the acid, was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of six years, in 2009 and released on licence in 2018.
In 2022, he was recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions, with police issuing an arrest warrant after it was thought he had left the UK.
Katie was just 24 in March 2008 when the harrowing attack happened. She needed 400 operations after being left with severe burns.
Lynch, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, was said to have become obsessively jealous after briefly dating Piper before the attack.
After she ended their relationship, Lynch bombarded her with phone calls. He was on the phone to her as she walked down a street in Golders Green, north London, when Sylvestre threw sulphuric acid in her face.
In March, former Met detective Peter Bleksley described Lynch’s bid for freedom and Sylvestre being on the run as ‘utterly abhorrent’.
‘The victim in this case has been through an utterly horrific ordeal. With one defendant having fled the country and the other out potentially in weeks, I imagine she feels the system has badly let her down.
‘I can fully understand why she would think like that. It’s appalling. It is utterly abhorrent.’
In June last year, the Loose Women star said Lynch’s release was on her mind. She said: ‘I’m 40 this year. Am I going to die in the next ten years? I don’t actually know.
‘The people that attacked me will be released. Are they going to kill me? I’m not sure.’