Remember the teacher who ran off to France with his 15-year-old pupil? His name was Jeremy Forrest.

He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail when Stuart Hall, who admitted indecently assaulting 13 girls (one as young as nine), got 15 months.

At the time I pointed out Jeremy didn’t hurt anyone. In fact, I argued his only crime was to fall in love.

And before anyone bleats on, I get the whole ‘abuse of trust’, ‘used his position’ etc.

I mention it now only because Jeremy’s found himself back in the news after pulling out of a local music gig for ‘personal reasons’. He’s now a musician performing under a different stage name.

And, as a result of several national titles reporting this fact, I recently had a long conversation with Jeremy’s father.

He’s still fighting The Sun, Mail Online, to name but two, for their treatment of his son.

No-one is condoning Jeremy’s behaviour or seeking to excuse it, but should he for example, be labelled a ‘paedo’?

Jeremy’s dad believes the word paedophile is misused by the media purely to gain a public reaction. He argues a paedophile must direct sexual desire towards children. He claims the definition of a child is a young human being below the age of puberty.

Therefore by definition he says his son is a sex offender and not a paedophile.

He further points out that ‘grooming’ is a clearly defined offence and whilst some, footballer Adam Johnson for example, are convicted under the Sex Offenders Act 2003, his son was not, as the police would have had no chance of securing a conviction.

It is interesting that Jeremy’s official report by the Sex Offenders Treatment Programme states ‘he did not have sex with a child’.

Personally I feel Jeremy has been incredibly harshly treated, I’m not even sure he should have been jailed. That he and his new partner are still being pursued so fervently is frankly ludicrous.

At the time I said Jeremy’s teaching career was shot and he was never going to be a threat to anyone else, so where’s the justice?

I didn’t expect to hear anything further about Jeremy or to be chatting to his dad.

But having met several family members and heard the story from the other side I’m more convinced than ever he now deserves a decent break. In fact I think I’ll buy him a pint and offer him whatever support I can.