Meghan Markle’s father charged in US over possession of child sexual abuse material

Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida on Friday on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material and later released under electronic monitoring, US authorities said.

The 82-year-old was arrested at a senior care facility in Lakeland, Florida, and appeared before a federal court in Tampa. US Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination, citing concerns that he might be unable to understand the proceedings or assist his lawyer properly. Markle was released to a senior care centre subject to electronic monitoring.

The arrest followed the seizure of "approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books" containing suspected child sexual abuse images from storage units in the Los Angeles area, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said. An FBI affidavit filed in court said some of the images appeared to depict Markle with children. "These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law," Essayli said.

The US Attorney's Office said the case would eventually move to California, although hearings were unlikely to begin for several weeks. Markle's court-appointed lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investigation began after reports by British newspaper The Sun that Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., had found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father's home in Cebu City, Philippines. Markle Jr. reportedly alerted local police and contacted the FBI. The discovery led investigators to two storage units in the Los Angeles area, which Markle had rented since 2008. Essayli told The Associated Press that there was no evidence of victims in the United States based on the material seized so far, but the investigation was continuing.

Markle had been living in the Philippines earlier this year before suffering a stroke and undergoing the amputation of his left leg, forcing his return to the US.

Meghan recently said she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations and referred to a 2019 letter sent to London police containing "troubling allegations" about her father. "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," she said.

Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018. The couple, who have two children, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and are not working members of the royal family. There was no immediate comment from Meghan's representative following her father's arrest.