82-Year-Old Father of Meghan Markle Arrested Over 78 Seized Items

Thomas Markle Sr. was arrested in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday morning.

The 82-year-old father of Meghan Markle faces one count of possession of child pornography. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced the charges in a news release.

Federal agents seized approximately 78 items from two storage units in the Los Angeles area. Markle rented these units for nearly two decades. The items include slides, film negatives, and books. The federal complaint alleges the materials contained sexually explicit photographs of Markle with prepubescent girls. Investigators noted images showing him with children in various stages of undress, including one nude prepubescent girl.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the agency will prosecute Markle to the fullest extent of federal law. FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the agency will use every resource to protect children. Patel said any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in the country.

Markle is scheduled to appear in court in Tampa, Florida, on Friday. If convicted, he faces 20 years in federal prison.

The arrest follows reports from The Sun newspaper two weeks ago. The British tabloid reported that Markle was under investigation for keeping child sexual abuse videos and images at his home in the Philippines. Authorities in the Philippines recovered thousands of photos featuring underage males and females. Markle’s son told police he found hundreds, if not thousands, of such images in boxes at the home.

Markle denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Mail. He called them sick lies and said they were the worst thing anyone could accuse him of. Meghan Markle said last month that she was deeply distressed by the reports. She revealed that police informed her of disturbing allegations against her father in 2018. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they are not commenting on the arrest at this time.