Karen Matthews' paedophile ex-boyfriend is living in a house where his bedroom overlooks a children's playground
- Craig Meehan, 30, was jailed for possessing child pornography on his computer
- He has been living in Yorkshire under another name since release in 2008
- Ex-fishmonger has been relocated five times, with neighbours not aware of past
Craig Meehan, 30, is understood to be living in a house where his bedroom overlooks a children's playground
Karen Matthews' paedophile ex-boyfriend is living in a house where his bedroom overlooks a children's playground.
Craig Meehan, 30, was jailed in 2008 after police found child pornography on his computer during the investigation into Shannon Matthews' disappearance.
He has been living in Yorkshire under a different name since his release from prison, but has been relocated five times.
Meehan was photographed walking just two miles from where Shannon was found earlier this month.
The new neighbours of the former fishmonger, whose house has a view of a children's play area, said they knew nothing about his past.
One of his next-door neighbours told The Sun: 'He hasn’t lived there for long. He keeps himself to himself, you’d hardly know he was there.
'He doesn’t go out much and I don’t think he works. Sometimes he goes down to the shops and if I see I just say hello, that’s all.'
A woman who answered the door at Meehan's house claimed she had 'never heard of him'.
A friend of Meehan claimed earlier this week that Karen Matthews' ex-boyfriend was assaulted after the controversial BBC drama about the kidnap of Shannon was aired on television.
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He was allegedly beaten up by three men who had discovered his true identity and spotted him outside a local branch of Tesco.
A family friend told MailOnline: 'He was just getting used to coming out again, going to the shops and the bookies, he was starting to get confident.
'Now that he's had a thumping at one of the places he felt safe at, he feels scared and he's gone reclusive again.'
Karen Matthews' ex-boyfriend (pictured with Matthews in 2008) was jailed after police found child pornography on his computer during the investigation into Shannon Matthews' disappearance
The new neighbours of the former fishmonger knew nothing about his past. Pictured is the house where Meehan is living
Meehan was with Matthews, who has seven children by five different men, for five years before she was jailed over the plot with Meehan's uncle Michael Donovan to kidnap nine-year-old daughter Shannon.
They lived on the Dewsbury Moor estate in West Yorkshire - just a mile from where Shannon was found in Batley Carr.
Meehan was found guilty of possessing child pornography in 2008 and issued a 20-week jail sentence, but was released as he had already spent it in jail on remand.
He was never charged in connection with Shannon's abduction.
Meehan was with Matthews for five years before she was jailed over the plot with Meehan's uncle Michael Donovan to kidnap nine-year-old daughter Shannon (pictured)
Shannon, nine, sparked a huge manhunt when she vanished on her way home from a swimming lesson in 2008 and was missing for 24 days.
She was eventually found drugged and bound in the base of a double bed at the home of Michael Donovan, Meehan's uncle.
In January 2009, Karen Matthews and Donovan were sentenced to eight years in jail after being found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. They were released in 2012.
The pair had hoped to secure a £50,000 reward for 'finding' Shannon after setting up her disappearance.
The sordid case was dramatised in BBC showThe Moorside, which concluded this week.
Shannon, now 18, is living under a new identity.
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