Meghan Markle’s father arrested in Florida over alleged child sexual abuse material

Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida on Friday over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with minors, the Justice Department announced. He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint. The FBI seized around 78 items from two storage units rented by Markle that contain “suspected child pornography,” according to court documents. Items seized include film negatives featuring an adult man with naked “pre-pubescent” girls, and a witness “positively identified the adult man as Markle,” according to the documents. Markle, 82, is expected to make his initial appearance Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, the Justice Department said. “These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. His arrest comes weeks after authorities in the Philippines said they were investigating allegations that he kept child sexual abuse images at his home while living there. Authorities in the country later said they had recovered thousands of photos featuring “underage male and females.” Markle, a retired television lighting and photography director, denied the allegations last month, calling them “sick lies.” A spokesperson for the Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, declined to comment on the arrest. Buckingham Palace has not responded to a request for comment. In a criminal complaint, the FBI said Markle had rented the two storage units in California since the summer of 2008. One unit had mail bearing the name Thomas Markle and an international driver’s permit with his name, birthdate and a photo appearing to be him. The FBI seized 27 items from one unit and 51 from the other. Some of the film negatives, books and slides seized from them still are being reviewed. At least 18 images made from converted negatives “appeared to constitute child pornography,” according to the complaint. At least two images involved an adult, clothed man and a nude female child, the complaint states. A witness identified the man in the images as Markle, the FBI said. The FBI determined some of the seized film was manufactured in New York, so it would have traveled to California as interstate commerce. Based on background in one photo, the FBI determined the images were taken in a hotel in the Philippines, according to the court document. Meghan said in a statement last month that she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father. Their relationship has been limited and fraught in recent years, with her father not attending her wedding to Harry in 2018 amid widespread media scrutiny. Her statement said that she was previously informed of “disturbing allegations” against him, with British police subsequently confirming she was passed a letter in January 2019 “containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom.” London’s Metropolitan Police force said it had not informed other law enforcement agencies about the allegations in the letter at the time, referring itself to Britain’s policing watchdog over the handling of the allegations. “The breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine,” said Meghan, who said she had chosen to keep her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, away from her father “for one reason: to protect them.” Harry and Meghan stepped back as working royals in 2020 amid widespread reports of a royal rift, leaving Britain for California. Harry, the second son of King Charles and late Princess Diana, leveled harsh criticism at Buckingham Palace and other senior royals across a series of media interviews and a tell-all memoir, “Spare.” The couple returned to Britain two months ago, with their two children moving to schools in the country.