Thomas Markle Jr has been named a person of interest in the investigation into his father’s alleged possession of child pornography, Philippine officials have said.
Philippine Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said investigators were examining whether Thomas Jr was involved after a witness alleged that underage girls had been taken to Thomas Markle Sr’s home.
“We have a witness [who says] underage girls were being brought to his house. We will investigate whether the son was involved in the crime,” Mr Remulla said at a press conference on Thursday.
He added: “To accuse the father only is only half the police work. There are signs that point that the son is involved in the crime as well but only as a person of interest so far.”
Thomas Jr is not currently a suspect and is himself under investigation. He was the person who reported his father to Philippine officials.
The development follows comments Thomas Jr made to The Sun, in which he said he had reported storage units rented by his father in Hollywood to the FBI.
“There’s something there, that’s my gut feeling, I dread to think what the FBI might find, especially given what has been found in the Philippines and Mexico,” he said.
Authorities in Mexico and the Philippines are investigating Thomas Markle Sr over alleged stashes of child pornography. Mexican officials allegedly found images of child sexual abuse during a search, while Mr Remulla has previously said material discovered in the Philippines pointed to a sex offender of “the grossest kind”.
Thomas Markle Sr has denied the accusations and said he has never slept with anyone underage. A representative for Thomas Jr has not provided a comment.
