Katie Piper’s acid attacker fled the country TWO MONTHS ago, police reveal TODAY

Katie Piper‘s acid attacker fled the country more than two months ago, as police release a new image of the criminal as part of their global manhunt to find him.

Stefan Sylvestre, from Shepherd’s Bush, west London, was given a life sentence in 2009 for the attack which left former model Katie, then 24, with horrific injuries.

Sylvestre was jailed for life with a minimum of six years and became eligible for parole in 2015. At the time he was deemed unfit for release but a further application in 2018 was successful and he was freed aged 30, but ordered to stay away from Katie. 

In 2019 he was recalled to prison over a string of car thefts but got parole again in 2020 and was released after prosecution errors came to light. 

Sylvestre has now been recalled to prison once again and warned that he faces more time behind bars after going missing. But now the Met Police has revealed that the criminal left the country on Tuesday, August 2.

This evening Scotland Yard issued an appeal for information to find Sylvestre. 

The statement said: ‘Officers are appealing for information to find a man wanted for recall to prison.

‘Police were notified on Friday, 23 September, that Stefan Sylvestre, 34, had been recalled to prison. His last known address was in north London.

Scotland Yard has issued a new photograph of the criminal (pictured in September 2019) as the Met Specialist Crime Command launches an investigation into his whereabouts

Katie Piper (pictured last week) was left with horrific injuries after Stefan Sylvestre, then 19, threw acid at her in 2008

‘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.

‘Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call police on 999 quoting CAD6239/23Sep.

‘To give information anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestopperson 0800 555 111.’

Katie, who is 39 on Wednesday, was left fighting for her life after her obsessive ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch arranged for then 19-year-old Sylvestre to throw sulphuric acid at her in Golders Green, north London in 2008.

Ms Piper’s most recent Instagram posts have been related to mental health, especially about the importance of self-esteem. She has spoken openly about how her sense of self had been stripped away by the injuries she suffered 14 years ago.

In one post named ‘comparison is the thief to joy’ just before Sylvestre’s disappearance was revealed, Katie said: ‘I’ll find myself receiving a compliment or feeling proud, and thinking ‘well, it’s not as good as that thing or someone else’s achievements’ and feeling down about it.

Sylvestre (pictured) was given a life sentence in 2009 for the attack and released on parole in 2018. He has now gone missing after being recalled to jail for breaching his licence conditions

Katie Piper has shared Instagram posts about the importance of self-worth and happiness as her attacker fled the authorities

‘Being simply happy and content, is what I’ll continually search for in all areas of my life. The feeling of not particularly always needing more, but to feel happy with what you have, both personally, materially etc. Does anyone else feel like this? I’m so intrigued If this is a shared sentiments’.

Daniel Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years for sexually assaulting Katie and telling Sylvestre to throw acid over her. He cannot be considered for release until 2025.

The pair had dated briefly before steroid-fuelled martial arts fan Lynch, who had a previous conviction for pouring boiling water over a man, became obsessively jealous.

In court, Lynch and Sylvestre were told by Judge Nicholas Browne QC that they were ‘the face of pure evil’.

Model and TV presenter Katie had to wear a mask after the attack and needed 40 operations to treat her severe burns in a long and painstaking process which included pioneering surgery which completely removed the damaged skin from her face and replaced it with a substitute. 

Daniel Lynch (pictured), who ordered the attack on Katie (right), cannot be considered for release until 2025

Before the attack, Miss Piper, 26, was a model and aspiring TV presenter. She is pictured before the attack 

In July 2019, 12 years after the attack, she had further surgery to cauterize the blood vessels in her left eye. She was again taken to hospital for emergency surgery in August this year after she was left in ‘extreme pain’ and her husband Richard Sutton noticed a black spot in her eye.

In her heart-rending victim impact statement in the aftermath of the attack, 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.

‘All I am left with is an empty shell. A part of me has died that will never come back. This is worse than death.’

In October 2019 she bravely shared a graphic image online displaying the terrible injuries she sustained after being doused with sulphuric acid.

Since the ordeal Katie has rebuilt her life, featuring on numerous TV shows, including a 2009 documentary about the impact of the attack. She also featured on the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 (pictured)

Katie was again taken to hospital for emergency surgery in August this year (pictured) after she was left in ‘extreme pain’ and her husband Richard Sutton noticed a black spot in her eye

Captioning the photo, she wrote: ‘I remember when I didn’t want to look at anyone. I remember when I didn’t want anyone to look at me. I remember when I was scared of people, scared of men.

‘I remember when I was scared of the world.

‘I remember when opening up to people and talking about my trauma and psychological damage just wasn’t possibly.’

Since the ordeal Katie has rebuilt her life, featuring on numerous TV shows, including a 2009 documentary about the impact of the attack.

She has also took part in the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and launched the Katie Piper Foundation to raise awareness for other victims of burns and other disfigurement attacks and injuries.

This year she was awarded an OBE for charity and burns services in the New Year Honours.

The mother-of-two described it as ‘a wonderful privilege’ to receive an OBE from Princess Anne at Windsor Castle in February.