Meehan on child porn charges

Sep 8 2008 by Neil Atkinson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE former partner of Shannon Matthews’ mother went on trial today accused of possessing child pornography.

Craig Meehan, 22, is accused of possessing 140 indecent images of children.

They were allegedly found on a computer at the home he shared with Karen Matthews at Dewsbury Moor.

He is also charged with possessing an indecent image of a young girl on a mobile phone. He is on trial at Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court.

Meehan, a former supermarket fishmonger, is charged with 12 offences of possessing indecent images of children.

It is alleged that he possessed indecent images of children aged between four and 16, graded at levels one to four, on a scale where one is the least serious and five is the most serious.

They were allegedly found on one of two computers at the family home where he lived with Matthews, 32, for about five years.

Meehan denies all the charges.

He was charged with the offences in April after he was arrested by officers investigating Shannon’s disappearance.

The nine-year-old went missing on February 19 and was discovered hidden in the base of a bed in a flat one mile from her home after a 24-day search.

The youngster’s 32-year-old mother has been charged with kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Meehan’s uncle, Michael Donovan, 40, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, has also been charged with Shannon’s kidnap and imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

They will go on trial at Leeds Crown Court in November.