Mother’s partner in Shannon case had indecent images

POLICE investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews discovered 134 indecent images of children on the computer of her mother’s former partner, a court heard yesterday.

Yorkshire police, called after the nine-year-old went missing in February, said they had found the images on a computer belonging to Craig Meehan, 22, who was living with her mother Karen at the time.

Prosecutor David Holderness said 134 images had been found on a second-hand computer bought by Meehan in 2006, with another 10 discovered on his mobile phone.

Of the images, 16 were classified as level four — on a scale of one to five, five is considered the most serious.

Meehan, who is facing 11 charges of possessing indecent images of children, denies all the charges.

Holderness told the court it was “extremely unlikely” anyone other than Meehan had downloaded the images.

The trial is expected to last five days.

Meehan was arrested by officers investigating the disappearance of Shannon, who was found 24 days later hidden in a flat just a mile from her home.

Shannon’s mother Karen Matthews, 32, who led a high-profile campaign to find her missing daughter, was accused of perverting the course of justice and child neglect after concealing information about her whereabouts from police.

Meehan’s uncle, Michael Donovan, 39, has also been charged with the girl’s kidnap and imprisonment.

Both deny the charges.