Thomas Markle Sr, the estranged father of Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, has been arrested in the United States on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.
The 82-year-old was taken into custody in Florida after investigators uncovered what officials described as sexually explicit photographs of him with prepubescent girls. The images were discovered inside two storage units in the Los Angeles area that he had rented for close to two decades.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday that Mr Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.
According to the Justice Department, the investigation began in October, when authorities learned that a person had signed an affidavit saying they had found child sexual abuse material among Markle's belongings in the Philippines. A second individual told law enforcement that Markle had rented a storage unit near Los Angeles since 2008, and information from the first person led agents to a second unit.
After obtaining warrants, FBI agents searched both units, which were registered to Thomas Markle. Inside, they recovered 78 items, including photographs, film negatives and books containing explicit imagery of him with underage girls.
The affidavit described three of the photographs. Two showed a man identified by a witness as Markle with a nude prepubescent girl, while the third showed a nude underage girl in what appeared to be a hotel room in the Philippines. Officials also found photos appearing to show Markle with, in the affidavit's words, children in various stages of undress.
Markle had been living in the Philippines earlier this year but returned to the United States after suffering a stroke and having his left leg amputated.
In a statement issued to The New York Times in October, Meghan said she first became aware of the allegations against her father in 2018, when a letter outlining them was sent to the London Metropolitan Police unit then responsible for her security. "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours," she wrote, adding, "My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed." She said the distance she kept from her father and her decision to keep him away from her children was made for one reason: to protect them.
The arrest comes at a time when President Donald Trump's administration faces criticism over its handling of child abuse cases, including the release of files from the investigation into convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, King Charles stripped Prince Andrew of his princely title amid the scandal over his brother's ties to Epstein. Meghan, Prince Harry and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, moved back to the United Kingdom in August. The Associated Press said it sought comment from Meghan's representative on Friday but had not received a response.
Thomas Markle is expected to appear in a Florida court on Friday. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in a US federal prison, according to the Justice Department.
