Thomas Markle Under House Arrest After Child Sex Abuse Material Charge

Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been placed under house detention at his assisted living facility in Florida after being charged over possession of child sex abuse material. Markle, 82, was arrested in Florida on a federal complaint alleging he held images that show child sex abuse, the US Department of Justice said. He is charged with one count of possessing indecent images of children. Markle has previously denied allegations of possessing images of child sex abuse, calling them “sick lies.” In a 30-minute court hearing on Friday, he was also ordered to submit to electronic monitoring, but no plea was taken.

At the court hearing, the charges were laid out against him by federal prosecutor Courtenay Derry. He was brought into court in a wheelchair, escorted by two US Marshals, wearing black trousers and a black t-shirt. No plea was taken during the hearing, and an arraignment date in California will be determined in due course, a joint statement from the DoJ and the US Attorney’s Office Central California said. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not commented on Markle’s arrest.

Markle was arrested after the FBI, acting on warrants, searched storage units in Los Angeles registered to him which he had rented since 2008, with the last payment being made in October this year, the DoJ said. Inside the units, the FBI says agents seized about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books that they allege contained child sex abuse material. FBI director Kash Patel said authorities “moved quickly” when arresting Markle. Witnesses reportedly “positively identified” Markle in two of the images believed to contain child sex abuse material, in which the man pictured appears to be in his 30s to 40s, suggesting the alleged abuse dates back decades.

Last month, police in the Philippines obtained a warrant to examine devices allegedly removed from Markle’s former home in the country. Four boxes of material, including computers, phones, hard drives and old video tapes, were handed to officers by Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr. Markle Sr moved to the Philippines last year after a series of strokes, and lived in Cebu until May, before reportedly living in a Florida rehabilitation centre learning to walk again after having his leg amputated. In October, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received a letter in 2019 making claims relating to Markle Sr, which was passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but not shared with other law enforcement agencies. The force has since voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its handling of the letter. In a statement in October, the Duchess of Sussex said: “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.”