Stepdad's porn trial starts

2008-09-08 16:14

London - The former partner of the mother of kidnapped schoolgirl Shannon Matthews was accused on Monday of possessing more than 100 indecent images of children.

Prosecutor David Holderness said police had found 133 indecent child pictures on a computer found at the West Yorkshire home of Craig Meehan, 22, which he shared with Shannon's mother Karen, the Press Association reported.

Another image was found on Meehan's phone.

Police had seized Meehan's computer the day after Shannon was reported missing in February.

Her disappearance sparked a massive police hunt that ended 24 days later when the nine-year-old was discovered at a house about a mile from her home in Dewsbury Moor.

Holderness was outlining the prosecution case as Meehan appeared at Dewsbury Magistrates Court at the start of what is expected to be a five-day trial.

Meehan denies 11 charges of possessing indecent child images.

But Holderness said the evidence provided a "convincing and overwhelming picture" that it was Meehan who had downloaded the pictures.

Karen Matthews, 32, remains in custody charged with kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

She will be tried in November alongside Michael Donovan, Meehan's 40-year-old uncle, who faces the same charges.

- Reuters