What does a 24 year old science teacher from Manchester and one of the world’s leading film directors have in common?

Well, they’ve both had illegal sex with a minor. The difference is one has just been jailed for four years the other has been a fugitive on the run for 30 years who is hoping his own misdemeanour will now be swept under the carpet.

Let’s look at the facts. Both men admitted having sex with a 13 year old girl against her will.

Matthew Knott, 24, who taught at Elton High School in Bury targeted the youngster online, sent her explicit messages and asked her for naked photos.

A week after meeting online he picked her up in his car, drove her to his flat and had sex with her. Immediately afterwards he took her home.

Roman Polanski admitted having unlawful sex with 13-year-old Samantha Gailey in Los Angeles in 1978. He was convicted but while awaiting sentence fled the country.

He has lived in exile ever since until justice caught up with him at a Zurich Airport this week.

The convict now awaits extradition to the US where he will be sentenced for the crime he committed more than 30 years ago.

But he is appealing and there is a powerful cabal of Hollywood stars petitioning on his behalf.

Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and even our own Tilda Swinton among others, have all signed a petition for his release. Why not the same level of support for Mathew Knott, he has after all committed an almost identical crime?

Well of course he doesn’t have the power of the media to fight his corner.

The people who control the media are people like Polanski. It’s the circles he moves in and no doubt many are sympathetic to his case and more importantly willing to use their news outlets to try and turn public opinion in his favour.

His friends in the media are increasingly pushing the line that this is something that happened a long time ago, nobody got hurt and it should be tucked away and forgotten about.

A French citizen after his arrest he called on his government’s support. But after initially being duped into supporting him they are starting to see the wood from the trees. 

With Luc Chatel the French government spokesman saying:

“Roman Polanski is neither above or below the law. We have a judicial procedure affair under way for serious affair the rape of a minor, on which the Swiss and US legal systems are doing their job.”

Polanski is a convicted criminal and should be made to serve whatever sentence is handed down in the same way Mathew Knott is.

The media cannot be allowed to manipulate justice.