SHANNON STEPDAD
Who is Shannon Matthews stepdad Craig Meehan and where is he now?
Plus a timeline of Shannon's kidnapping
EVIL Karen Matthews will forever be remembered as the woman who plotted to kidnap her own daughter, with the help of the late Michael Donovan.
At the time of Shannon Matthews’ disappearance, her mum Karen was dating Craig Meehan - who wasn't involved in the kidnap.
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Who is Craig Meehan?
Craig Meehan is a convicted paedophile and the ex-boyfriend of Karen Matthews.
The supermarket fishmonger shared a house with Matthews, dubbed "Britain's Most Hated Mum", for around five years.
They lived on the Dewsbury Moor estate in West Yorkshire - just a mile from where Shannon was found in Batley Carr.
Meehan was never charged in connection with the nine-year-old's abduction.
Was Craig Meehan involved in the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews?
Meehan was not involved in Shannon's kidnapping.
He was charged and found guilty of possessing child abuse images. after detectives seized computer equipment from the house they shared at the time in Dewsbury.
Meehan, then 22, was jailed in 2008 for 20 weeks.
How long were Craig Meehan and Karen Matthews together for?
Meehan and Matthews were in a relationship for five years.
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The pair were together when Matthews plotted her daughter's kidnap with his uncle, Michael Donovan.
They had been together for around four years when Shannon disappeared and stayed together up until Matthews' trial.
Shannon Matthews' pal speaks of pain of losing best friend after abduction
Throughout the cruel mum's court case for child neglect and perverting the course of justice, Meehan continued to profess his love for her.
He told the court they had a "pretty good relationship", but said Matthews suspected he was cheating on her with a fellow supermarket worker.
Matthews initially told a similar story, but soon changed her tune entirely.
Giving evidence in court Matthews tried to portray Meehan as violent rapist and attempted to blame him for Shannon's abduction.
Donovan and Matthews were sentenced to eight years in jail each for the kidnapping.
In April 2024, Donovan died from throat cancer.
What was the age difference between Karen Matthews and Craig Meehan?
There is a ten year age gap between them.
At the time of the kidnapping she was 32, and he was 22.
Meehan met the mum-of-seven, who has children with five different men, when he was not much more than a boy.
The youngster used to hang out in the street outside her home while Matthews was in her late 20s.
What happened to Craig Meehan?
Meehan has been moved five times since being released from prison in 2008.
He was initially found a home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, but was moved after being attacked.
Housing authorities found him alternative accommodation in the town but he was unmasked again and moved 20 miles to a village near Huddersfield.
But his stay in the affluent village was short-lived when horrified residents discovered Meehan was in the area.
He then moved back to Dewsbury.
Where is Craig Meehan now?
Meehan was unmasked living just 100 yards from a primary school in Dewsbury.
He had been living in a tiny back-to-back terraced house in a quiet street popular with families and just yards from a school.
The house was close to the home he shared with Matthews and Shannon at the time of her abduction.
Meehan - who is on the Sex Offenders Register - was discovered by angry locals and confronted by a dad whose kids go to the school.
Many residents were shocked the paedophile had been placed back in the town, where he is "well known".
Once again he was relocated but this time his whereabouts are unknown.
Timeline of the Shannon Matthews kidnap plot
A look at the events that unfolded following the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews:
- February 19, 2008 - Shannon Matthews disappears and was last spotted outside Westmoor Junior School, Dewsbury.
- February 19, 2008 - Police announce that they have started a massive search involving more than 200 officers as concern grows for the missing girl.
- March 1, 2008 - Karen Matthews issues an emotional appeal for Shannon's return on the eve of Mother's Day.
- March 5, 2008 - Police release a recording of part of the 999 call Matthews made reporting Shannon missing.
- March 14, 2008 - Shannon is found alive and hidden in the base of a divan bed at a house at Michael Donovan's house in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.
- April 9, 2008 - Karen Matthews is charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice over her daughter's disappearance - new charges of Kidnap and false imprisonment were later added.
- December 4, 2008 - Matthews and Donovan are found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice and both sentenced to eight years behind bars.
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