Meghan Markle's Father Arrested in Florida on Federal Child Pornography Charge
Federal agents arrested Thomas Markle, 82, at a Florida senior living facility on Friday. Prosecutors say child sexual abuse material was found in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades; a judge placed him on house arrest, and he has denied the allegations.
Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested by federal agents in Florida on Friday and charged with one count of possession of child pornography, the Department of Justice announced. Agents took him into custody at the Maravida Senior Living facility in Lakeland, where he had been living, and he made his first court appearance the same day in the U.S. District Court in Tampa.
The charge comes out of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. "Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who leads the Los Angeles-based office. Prosecutors say the material was kept in two Los Angeles-area storage units Markle rented for nearly two decades, with payments continuing as recently as October. FBI agents searching the units under warrant seized about 78 items, including photographic slides, 35mm film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material, according to the criminal complaint.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson ordered Markle released and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring, barred from traveling outside the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California. He has not entered a plea, and his arraignment in California has not been scheduled — prosecutors say it is likely several weeks away. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. "Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
The federal case follows reports from Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., who told authorities in the Philippines — where the elder Markle lived until recently — that he had found indecent images of children among his father's belongings, and said he reported the discovery to U.S. authorities as well. The Philippines Justice Department's child abuse unit has said its own matter is under investigation. Markle has vehemently denied the allegations, telling Britain's Daily Mail: "I'm shocked, I'm hurt and I'm very upset that my son is making these accusations against me." A spokesperson for Meghan told CNN the duchess had no comment; she said in October that she was "deeply distressed" by the reports about her father. A criminal charge is an allegation, not a conviction, and Markle is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
