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Katie Piper acid attacker is freed from jail

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The acid attacker who left Strictly star Katie Piper scarred for life has reportedly been released from jail.

Steven Sylvestre was jailed for life in 2009 for throwing sulphuric acid into the face of the TV presenter in 2008.

Sylvestre, then aged 20, was required to serve a minimum sentence of six years for the attack, and in August prison officials deemed him to be safe to return to public life.

Undated Metropolitan Police handout picture of Stefan Sylvestre, Katie Piper's acid attacker who is being considered for parole as the presenter prepares to debut on Strictly Come Dancing. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Saturday August 18, 2018. 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. Ten years after surviving that attack, Piper, 34, is preparing to appear on the BBC show, which is expected to air next month. See PA story SHOWBIZ Piper. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

Stefan Sylvestre has been granted release from prison (Picture: PA)

The acid thug, who left Katie fighting for life and needing over 40 surgeries since the attack, was reportedly released from Highpoint jail, in Suffolk, on Wednesday and driven to a bail hostel in London.

Strictly bosses have allegedly increased her security following the news, and the author and TV presenter has been spotted with bodyguards during coffee breaks.

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A source told The Sun: Sylvestres licence conditions include an exclusion zone which bars him from an area around Katies address.

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Any attempt to go near the Strictly studios in Hertfordshire would almost certainly also see him returned straight to jail.

But although Sylvestre is banned from contacting Katie in any way, the simple fact that hes back in London will be of great concern to her.

Katie Piper at the launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2018 held at The Broadcasting House, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday August 27, 2018. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire.

Katie is currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: PA)

He will also be required to keep a nightly curfew, expected to be between 11pm and 7am, and will be subjected to random drug tests.

Sources also said that his life-long licence condition ban him from contacting Katies obsessed ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, who raped her before hiring Sylvestre to throw the acid in her face.

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Lynch was given a minimum 16-year life sentence and will remain behind bars.

This was the second time Sylvestre has applied for parole, after he was turned down in 2015.

In her autobiography, the TV presenter and charity worker wrote of the moment she heard that her attacker was seeking parole for the first time.

Undated Metropolitan Police handout picture of Daniel Lynch, who was jailed for life today after raping his model ex-girlfriend Katie Piper and then arranging for acid to be thrown in her face.

Katies ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch, who raped her before arranging for Sylvestre to throw the acid into her face (Picture: PA)

Katie Piper, who was the victim of a rape and an acid attack by a jealous boyfriend. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday October 18, 2009. Miss Piper, 26, a model and aspiring TV presenter who had sulphuric acid thrown in her face has revealed details of her courageous battle to recover and pioneering surgery to treat her burns, in a Channel 4 documentary later this month. The Cutting Edge documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face will be shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Thursday October 29.See PA story CRIME Acid. Photo credit should read: C4/PA Wire This picture may be used solely for Channel 4 programme publicity purposes in connection with the current broadcast of the programme(s) featured in the national and local press and listings. Not to be reproduced or redistributed for any use or in any medium not set out above (including the internet or other electronic form) without the prior written consent of Channel 4 Picture Publicity: picturepublicity@channel4.co.uk

The vile attack left Katie needing more than 40 surgeries and made her blind in one eye (Picture: PA)

She wrote: The two of them had taken so much from me, and now this mans punishment might soon be over. I thought, “Im the one with the life sentence. Not him. He can change his identity, change his name, get a new job, a partner, move on, but I cant. I cant pretend it didnt happen because its all over my face”.

The horrific attack meant she was put into an induced coma for 12 days and had to have all the skin on her face completely removed and replaced with a synthetic substitute to build the foundations for a skin graft.

Undated handout photo issued by Tell MAMA of a letter advertising 'Punish a Muslim'. A counter-terrorism detective investigating the "Punish a Muslim Day" letters has said his team takes religious hatred "extremely seriously". PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday March 12, 2018. The offensive messages were sent to a string of locations across the country with five police forces - West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and the Metropolitan Police - all receiving reports. See PA story POLICE Muslim. Photo credit should read: Tell MAMA/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.Man, 35, admits sending hundreds of 'Punish a Muslim Day' letters

It left Katie blind in one eye, and her ongoing recovery has meant she has had to endure more than 40 operations.

The courageous young woman used her experience to try and benefit others and set up the Katie Piper Foundation, which aims to create a world where scars do not limit a persons wellbeing.

She has since gone on to become a hugely successful TV personality, author and activist and married her husband Richard Sutton in 2015.

They have two daughters, Belle, who was born in 2014, and Penelope, who was born in December.

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