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FBI agents arrested Thomas Markle Sr., 82, in Florida on Friday, November 6.
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Federal prosecutors charged him with one count of possessing child sexual abuse material.
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Investigators seized approximately 78 items from two storage units in California.
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Markle denies the allegations, while his daughter Meghan has expressed distress over the investigation.
November 6, (THEWILL) – Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested by federal agents in Florida following an investigation into alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the 82-year-old on Friday, November 6, near Tampa, after US prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him in the Central District of California.
Authorities charged Markle with one count of possession of child sexual abuse material under federal law.
The arrest followed investigations in the United States and the Philippines, where Markle previously lived and where his son reported discovering suspected abuse images among his belongings.
Markle has denied the allegations, describing them as false. The charge remains an allegation, and prosecutors must establish guilt in court.
FBI Searches Two California Storage Units
Federal court documents show that investigators searched two storage units Markle had rented in the Los Angeles area since 2008.
Agents recovered approximately 78 items, including film negatives, photographic slides and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material.
Investigators said they discovered evidence that prompted them to examine old photographic negatives more closely. After converting some of the negatives into digital photographs, agents identified images they considered evidence of illegal material.
An FBI affidavit also alleges that some photographs depict an adult man with underage girls. A witness who had known Markle since the 1970s identified the man in two photographs as Markle, according to the complaint.
Investigators have not completed their examination of all the recovered material.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli described the allegations as extremely serious and said prosecutors intended to pursue the case under federal law.
FBI Director Kash Patel also confirmed Markle’s arrest, stressing the agency’s commitment to investigating crimes involving the exploitation of children.
The authorities have charged Markle with possession, not convicted him of producing or distributing child sexual abuse material. The criminal complaint establishes the allegations that prosecutors intend to pursue, rather than a judicial finding that he committed the offence.
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Meghan Markle Responds to Allegations Against Her Father
The investigation gained public attention after Thomas Markle Jr., Meghan’s half-brother, reported finding suspected child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father’s former residence in Cebu City, Philippines.
Markle Jr. told British media that he contacted police in the Philippines and alerted the FBI.
Philippine authorities subsequently began investigating the allegations, while British police acknowledged receiving earlier information concerning Markle.
Meghan, who married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018, recently said the reports had left her deeply distressed.
She also disclosed that she had received a letter in 2018 containing troubling allegations about her father, which she said she understood authorities were investigating.
Her comments followed years of public discussion about her estrangement from Markle, a retired television lighting director who did not attend her wedding at Windsor Castle.
Meghan said her decision to maintain distance from her father, including limiting contact with her children, reflected concerns about their protection.
The Duchess of Sussex has not publicly commented on Friday’s arrest.
Markle, who previously suffered a stroke and underwent a leg amputation, returned to the United States after living in the Philippines.
US prosecutors expect him to appear before a federal court in Tampa, Florida, as the criminal proceedings begin.
Authorities have not announced the outcome of that appearance.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the courts will determine Markle’s legal responsibility for the allegations.
Segun Adeyemi serves as the Associate Editor of THEWILL Newspaper, leveraging more than ten years of editorial expertise and a proven track record in mainstream journalism.
