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Shannon mother's ex goes on trial Meehan denies child porn charges
(about 5 hours later)
The former partner of Shannon Matthews' mother is due to go on trial accused of possessing child pornography. The former partner of Shannon Matthews' mother has told a court indecent images of children found on his computer had nothing to do with him.
Craig Meehan, 22, is accused of having 140 indecent images on a computer at the home he shared with Karen Matthews in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire. Craig Meehan, 22, is accused of having 134 indecent images on a computer at the home he shared with Karen Matthews in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire.
He is also charged with possessing an indecent image of a young girl on a mobile phone. Police found the images during their search for missing Shannon Matthews.
The trial at Dewsbury Magistrates' Court is expected to last five days. Mr Meehan denies all the charges. Prosecutor David Holderness told Dewsbury magistrates Mr Meehan had pointed the finger at other people.
It is alleged that the former supermarket fishmonger possessed indecent images of children aged between four and 16. He said Mr Meehan claimed other people had used his password-protected computer. There are substantial amounts of material which, when put together, provide a convincing and overwhelming picture that it was Mr Meehan who was the person who downloaded the relevant materials Prosecutor David Holderness
Computer evidence Detectives seized the computer from the home the day after nine-year-old Shannon went missing in February, the court was told.
The images have been graded at levels one to four - on a scale where one is the least serious and five is the most serious. Mr Holderness said the former supermarket fishmonger faced charges which referred to 134 indecent images of children.
They were allegedly found on one of two computers at the family home where he lived with 32-year-old Karen Matthews for about five years. He said 133 of these were found on a second-hand computer Mr Meehan had bought in 2006. The other was found on his mobile phone.
Mr Meehan was charged in April this year after he was arrested by officers investigating the disappearance of Shannon. The prosecutor said 16 of the images were classified as level four in a scale of one to five, where five is the most serious.
The nine-year-old went missing on 19 February and was found in a flat one mile from her home after a 24-day search by police. The majority of the images were classified as level one with others at level two and three.
The child's mother has been charged with kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Mr Holderness said: "There are substantial amounts of material which, when put together, provide a convincing and overwhelming picture that it was Mr Meehan who was the person who downloaded the relevant materials."
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. He said part of the prosecution case would be matching the times at which the images were downloaded with Mr Meehan's work record.
They will go on trial at Leeds Crown Court in November. Mr Meehan denies all the charges.
The hearing is expected to last five days.