Thomas Wayne Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested Friday at a senior living facility in Lakeland, Florida, and charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to a federal complaint.
The complaint alleges that Markle kept sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls in two storage units in the Los Angeles area that he had rented for nearly two decades. The units were paid for through auto-pay, and the most recent payments were made the month before his arrest.
According to the FBI, agents seized approximately 78 items from the storage units, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse material. The investigation involved FBI agents in Los Angeles and Tampa, along with law enforcement attaches in Mexico and the Marshall Islands. Mexican authorities seized a separate storage unit containing Markle's belongings during a search on November 1.
An affidavit states that two of the seized images depict an adult man, identified by a witness as Markle, with a nude prepubescent girl. A third image shows a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines. The affidavit also describes additional photographs that appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress.
"Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a release. Patel said agents worked quickly with Justice Department partners to identify and locate the explicit material and to make the arrest in Florida, adding that the FBI would use every resource at its disposal to protect children.
If convicted, Markle faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He was granted bond during a court appearance and released back to the Lakeland facility, where he will remain on house arrest with GPS monitoring.
Under the conditions of his release, Markle is barred from any access to the internet or connected devices and must submit a DNA sample. He will also undergo mental and physical health evaluations, which will be the subject of his next hearing in the Middle District of Florida. Following that hearing, the court will address his extradition to California to face the charges there.
Meghan Markle, who is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, called the allegations against her father "deeply disturbing" in a statement to FOX News last week. "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed," she said.
The duchess said a letter sent in 2018 to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, which was later shared with her, made troubling and disturbing allegations against her father, and that she was given assurances the claims were being investigated. She said her distance from her father and her choice to keep him from contact with her children was "for one reason: to protect them," adding that she trusted authorities were doing the same for other families.
"Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children," her statement concluded.
