Meghan’s father Thomas Markle charged with possessing child sexual abuse material
Thomas Markle snr, the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested on Friday morning (US time) by federal agents in Florida and charged with possessing child sexual abuse material.
A statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California alleged Markle “kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades”.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and her estranged father Thomas Markle snr.APThe 82-year-old was expected to appear before the United States District Court in Tampa later on Friday. If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“Mr Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli. “These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.”
FBI director Kash Patel alleged Markle snr “targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions”.
His arrest follows reports by The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, that Meghan’s half brother found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out the home of their father in the Philippines.
Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, recently said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father’s former home. She also revealed that a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to London police in 2018.
“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” Meghan said of the letter. “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them.”
Meghan, an American citizen who starred in the US television drama Suits, married Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Her father, a retired television lighting and photography director, did not attend the wedding, prompting extensive coverage in the British media of Meghan’s estrangement from her father.
Thomas Markle snr was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated. That forced him to return to the US.
The Sun reported that Thomas Markle jr recently found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in boxes at his father’s former home in Cebu City, in the Philippines, when he was clearing out the property.
Markle jr told the newspaper that he reported the images to police in the Philippines and contacted the FBI.
“I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years – but that stops now,” Markle jr told The Sun. “I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”
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