Thomas Markle Sr, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested by the FBI in Florida and charged with possessing child sexual abuse material.
Federal agents detained the 82-year-old at a senior living facility in Lakeland after alleged material was found in two storage units he had rented in Los Angeles for almost two decades.
Markle, a former Hollywood lighting director who uses a wheelchair following the amputation of a leg, was escorted from the care home in handcuffs and taken away in an ambulance. He is expected to appear before a federal court in Tampa.
The criminal complaint says agents seized about 78 items from the storage units, including slides, film negatives and books. Some of the material allegedly depicted children being sexually abused, while one witness claimed an adult man shown with a nude prepubescent girl was Markle.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Markle denied being a paedophile when questioned as he was taken from the facility, replying: “No.” He did not answer when asked whether he had collected child pornography.
FBI director Kash Patel said: “Mr Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.”
He added: “Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr Markle in Florida.”
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said the allegations were “extremely serious” and that prosecutors would pursue the case “to the fullest extent of federal law”.
Investigations in Mexico and the Philippines
The arrest follows separate investigations into alleged child sexual abuse material found in locations linked to Markle in Mexico and the Philippines.
Mexican authorities raided a storage unit in Rosarito, near Markle’s former home, after investigators were alerted to material allegedly kept there. A search warrant authorised officers to look for printed material, digital devices and other evidence relating to suspected child sexual abuse material and alleged aggravated human trafficking.
Officials seized a computer, memory sticks, videotapes and magazines from the unit, which Markle had reportedly rented from 2017. The contents also included old computers, hard drives and a paper plate bearing the words “DARK WEB” alongside various web addresses.
Markle has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Mexican storage unit, saying: “I had no storage units in Rosarito!”
A separate inquiry is under way in the Philippines after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, allegedly reported finding a large quantity of child sex images among belongings shipped to Cebu. Local detectives said they had found explicit content, including footage involving male and female minors, on digital devices.
Markle has described the Philippine allegations as “sick lies” made by his son. He has admitted paying for sex in the country but said: “I never had sex with anyone under the age of 18. I like Asian women, but that is not a crime.”
The Duchess of Sussex previously said she was “deeply distressed at the news that has come to light” and that her thoughts were with any children who may have been harmed. She has not commented on the developments in Mexico.
