The father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in America after sexual photos of him with underage girls were found

On Friday morning, the US federal authorities arrested Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in the state of Florida, on charges related to material related to the sexual assault of children, according to what the US Department of Justice announced.

The department said that Markle, 82, allegedly kept “sexually content photos of himself with pre-pubescent girls” inside two Los Angeles-area storage units that he rented for nearly two decades.

Markle is expected to appear before a federal court later, Friday, noting that he has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him.

In response to a request to comment on this news, which was first reported by the Daily Mail, a spokesman for Meghan told CNN that there is no comment at the present time.

It is noteworthy that Markle has a dispute with his daughter, Meghan, and did not attend her wedding to British Prince Harry in 2018.

Last October, the Duchess, who was born in the United States, expressed her feeling “deeply disturbed” by a report that her father possessed a large collection of photos documenting sexual assaults on children.

Thomas Markle Jr. told the British newspaper "The Sun" that he found a group of indecent photos of minor children inside storage boxes and on hard disks of computers in his father's house in the Philippines, noting that he informed the authorities there of what he discovered.

The Philippine Department of Justice's anti-child abuse unit told CNN that the case is "under investigation."

For his part, Thomas Markle Sr. strongly denied these accusations, in an interview with the British newspaper "Daily Mail".

He told the newspaper: "I am shocked, hurt, and very upset that my son is making these accusations against me." He added that the aforementioned computers had not been in his possession since he left Mexico with Thomas Markle Jr. in 2025.

Markle Jr. told The Sun newspaper that he also informed the American authorities about what he discovered. In October, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed to CNN that it was aware of the accusations involving Markle Sr., a US citizen, and that it would provide "support, as needed, to the Philippine authorities."

The office added at the time: “We will also investigate any related allegations of violations of US federal laws.”