Thomas Markle Sr. Faces 20 Years in Prison After Florida Arrest
Federal agents seized 78 items from storage units as the 82-year-old father of Meghan Markle stands accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.
By Oliver Bennett ·
Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan Markle, was arrested in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday morning. He faces one federal count of possession of child pornography, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced the arrest in a news release. Federal agents executed a search warrant at two Los Angeles-area storage units that Markle had rented for nearly two decades. Investigators recovered approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material.
The federal complaint alleges that the 82-year-old kept sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls in those units. An affidavit describes images that investigators say show Markle with children in various stages of undress, including one picture of a nude prepubescent girl.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated that the allegations are extremely serious and that the office will prosecute Markle to the fullest extent of federal law. FBI Director Kash Patel added that Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.
Markle is scheduled to appear in court in Tampa, Florida, on Friday. His arrest follows a report by The Sun newspaper nearly two weeks earlier, which stated that he was under investigation over claims he kept child sexual abuse videos and images at a home in the Philippines. Authorities in the Philippines said they recovered thousands of photos featuring underage males and females.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the couple is not commenting on the arrest at this time. Meghan revealed last month that she was deeply distressed by the initial reports and that police had informed her of disturbing allegations against her father in 2018. Markle previously denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Mail, calling them sick lies.
The arrest marks a new legal chapter for the 82-year-old, who has had a limited and fraught relationship with his daughter in recent years. He did not attend her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, an absence that drew widespread media scrutiny.
