Craig Meehan Guilty of Downloading Child Porn

Craig Meehan, the former partner of Shannon Matthews? mother, was given a 20-week prison sentence yesterday after he was found guilty of downloading child pornography.

The 22-year-old supermarket fishmonger was convicted of possessing 49 indecent images of children on a computer at Shannon?s home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

He was allowed to walk free from Dewsbury Magistrates? Court because the time he had already spent on remand, 166 days, was longer than the jail sentence passed by District Judge Jonathan Bennett.

Meehan, who was cleared of possessing an indecent image on his mobile phone, was also made the subject of a seven-year sexual offences prevention order. He had denied all the charges, claiming that someone else had been responsible for downloading the material.

The images were found when the computer was seized during a police inquiry in February after Shannon, now 10, disappeared while returning from school. She was found later.

Times Online