OMM Newsroom
Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida on Friday on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, US authorities said. Anadolu Agency reported the arrest.
Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, said Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, was arrested after a criminal complaint was filed on Thursday. If convicted, the felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
In a post on “X”, Essayli said the FBI had received information that Markle possessed child sexual abuse material and had rented two storage units in the Los Angeles area.
During searches authorised by a court, agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material, Essayli said. An affidavit accompanying the complaint alleges that three images depicted Markle with minors.
“These allegations are serious and disturbing. We intend to prosecute Markle to the fullest extent of federal law,” Essayli said.
Markle denies allegations under Philippine investigation
The arrest follows reports last month that Philippine authorities were investigating Markle over similar allegations. He has denied the accusations, describing them as “sick lies”.
“I have never downloaded anything like that in my life,” he was quoted as telling the “Daily Mail”.
A spokesperson for the Philippine National Police told “CBS News” that an investigation began after Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., handed his father’s personal belongings to law enforcement.
Meghan said she had known about allegations against her father since 2018 and that the information had been shared with British authorities at the time.
In a statement to “CBS News”, she said the allegations influenced her and Prince Harry’s decision to prevent her father from having contact with their children, Archie and Lilibet.
“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.
According to “BBC News”, Meghan also confronted her father about the allegations last year. The BBC reported that she wrote in a letter that she and authorities “knew he had abused young girls” and told him he would never meet her children.
