Shannon Matthews' paedophile step-dad beaten by vigilante mob who discovered his identity
SHANNON Matthews' step-dad has reportedly been battered outside his own home a week after a BBC drama was aired about her fake kidnapping.
Karen Matthews is interviewed by police in 2008
Craig Meehan was living with the schoolgirl’s mum Karen in 2008 when she devised an elaborate plot to “abduct” the nine-year-old and claim the £50,000 reward money.
Almost a month after she disappeared, Shannon was found tethered and drugged inside the base of a double bed at relative Michael Donovan’s flat.
Mrs Matthews - who has been dubbed the Worst Mum in Britain - was sentenced to eight years in prison but her ex-lover was never charged in connection with the fake kidnapping.
However soon after he was handed a 20-week jail sentence after police found child pornography on his computer during the search for Shannon.
He has since been moved multiple times after being released from prison in 2008 as police try to protect him from violent attacks.
He was first found a home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, but was quickly moved after being assaulted in the street.
Housing authorities found him another place to live the other side of town but was unmasked again and moved to another village near Huddersfield - before being discovered again.
He then moved back to Dewsbury, where he was spotted last week walking to the shops with another woman close to where Shannon was discovered.
Now, after a BBC dramatisation starring Sheridan Smith aired this week, Meehan was allegedly jumped by three men who exposed his identify yet again.
A family friend said: “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.”
The Moorside: Karen dances after daughter goes missing
The convicted paedophile, who is on the Sex Offender’s Register, was previously attacked by an angry dad after he moved close to a primary school.
One parent at the time said: “He was an idiot for thinking he could live around here and not be recognised.”
It is not known whether Meehan will have to be re-housed after the latest assault.
More than seven million people tuned in to watch The Moorside, a new two-part show exploring the weeks around the search for Shannon – and the ordeal that followed.