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Obsessed fan ordered acid attack | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A man has been found guilty of ordering an acid attack on a TV presenter he contacted on Facebook and then dated. | |
Danny Lynch, 32, from Shepherd's Bush, west London, arranged for sulphuric acid to be thrown in the face of his victim, leaving her badly disfigured. | |
Stefan Sylvestre, 20, of Shepherd's Bush, admitted the attack, which left the woman needing a dozen operations. | |
Wood Green Crown Court heard how the woman, 24, ended the relationship with Lynch after he threatened to hang her. | |
He was convicted last month of grievous bodily harm (GBH), but has yet to be sentenced for legal reasons. | |
Lynch was also accused of raping the woman, but jurors failed to reach a verdict on that charge. | |
At first I thought it was coffee, but then it started to burn so hard Lynch's victim | |
The acid attack happened on 31 March, three days after Lynch had assaulted his victim in a London hotel room and made the hanging threat. | |
Details of the acid attack and subsequent trial could only be reported after an unrelated trial at Kingston Crown Court was complete. | |
During the trial, Lynch was described as an obsessed fan of the victim's shows who went on to contact her through the social-networking site Facebook. | |
In video evidence the victim, who cannot be named, told the court that she was initially flattered by the attention Lynch gave her. | |
'Pain unreal' | |
But during their brief relationship, the woman became aware of his controlling, jealous behaviour and violent mood swings, jurors heard. | |
In the days after the hotel room attack, Lynch bombarded the woman with telephone calls and messages, warning her of dire consequences if she told anyone about the assault. | |
In her evidence, the victim described the pain of the acid attack as like "burning alive". | |
"I was so shocked," she said. | |
"At first I thought it was coffee, but then it started to burn so hard. | |
"It was like someone had pushed my head on a grill. The pain was so unreal." | |
At a separate hearing, Sylvestre, of Australia Road, admitted the acid attack, pleading guilty to GBH. | |
Lynch, of Becklow Gardens, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm at a previous hearing over the attack in the hotel room. |