Thomas Markle Arrested On Child Sex Abuse Material Charges - Newsweek
Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Prince Harry's wife Meghan, has been arrested for allegedly possessing sexually explicit photographs of himself with young girls, federal authorities announced.
Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, was taken into custody Friday by FBI agents at Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida, after being charged with one count of possession of child pornography. He is expected to make his initial court appearance later Friday.
"Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said. "These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law."
Court documents show authorities learned in October that an individual signed an affidavit regarding the discovery of suspected child sexual abuse material among Markle's possessions in the Philippines. Another individual also disclosed Markle had rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area, federal authorities allege.
FBI agents searched the units registered to Markle, who had used both since 2008, with payments set automatically, federal authorities allege. Agents found roughly 78 items, including two images that depict a man alleged to be Markle with a nude young girl. A third image shows a nude young girl in a room that appear to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines, federal authorities allege.
Markle faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
"Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions," FBI Director Kash Patel 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."
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment.
The Duchess of Sussex recently said last month she had been "deeply distressed" by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father’s former home in the Philippines. She also revealed that a letter containing "troubling allegations" about him had been sent to London police in 2018.
"I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed," Meghan Markle said in a statement provided to Newsweek on October 23.
Markle Sr. previously denied the allegations, characterizing them as "sick lies" concocted by his son for money. He told the Daily Mail that he had never downloaded child sexual abuse material and welcomed a forensic examination of the computers that allegedly contained the images.
Officers in the Philippines had seized evidence from the property, where Markle had been living for some time but had vacated after returning to America.
This week, Major General Wilson Asueta, of the Philippine National Police, confirmed Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material [CSEAM] was believed to be among the photos and computer files seized from the property.
It was later revealed that Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., who reported their father to police in Cebu, was being treated as a "person of interest" by police in the Philippines as part of the investigation.
"We’re determining if the son is involved," Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said in a statement. "We have witnesses who say that underage girls were being brought to his house, and we are following it up. To accuse the father only is only half the police work. There are signs that point that the son is a person of interest. He is not being treated as a suspect."
Markle Jr. did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
