Meehan jailed for having child porn

Sep 16 2008

The former partner of Shannon Matthews' mother has been jailed for downloading child pornography on to his personal computer.

Craig Meehan, 22, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison after he was found guilty at Dewsbury Magistrates' Court, in West Yorkshire, of 11 counts of possessing indecent images of children.

The counts detailed 49 different images of child abuse including some featuring children as young as four. The supermarket fishmonger was cleared on one count of possessing an image on a mobile phone.

Meehan's computer was seized from the home he shared with Karen Matthews, 32, on Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, by police searching for nine-year-old Shannon earlier this year.

Because he has already spent 166 days in prison on remand, he is expected to be released from custody imminently.

Sentencing Meehan, District Judge Jonathan Bennett told him the offences were "serious matters".

He said: "The damage that has been caused to the children in these photographs is unimaginable. That is why Parliament regards these matters as so serious and why there is widespread social abhorrence of such offences. The most vulnerable in our society have to be protected."

Police categorise child abuse pictures from category one to category five, where five is the most serious.

The court heard Meehan was found guilty of possessing 30 images at level one, 10 images at level two, two images at level three and seven images at level four.

Meehan was made subject to a seven-year sexual offences prevention order which bans him from having photographs of children under 16 unless it is with permission of the child's parents. He is also prohibited from downloading or viewing any image of children, except for family photos. Access to websites relating to children was also barred under the order.