Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, arrested by FBI in Florida over child abuse material allegations
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested by the FBI on Friday in Florida over allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse material, according to Hello! Magazine. He is 82 and had been living at the Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida. He has denied wrongdoing.
The case began in the Philippines. Thomas Markle Jr., aged 60, who is Meghan's half-brother, told Hello! Magazine that he found an alleged collection of child sexual abuse images at his former home there. He reported them to the FBI and to local police. Thomas Markle Sr. is the estranged father of the Duchess, and the two men have long been estranged from each other as well.
Philippine police said child sexual abuse materials were found at the home, which was in Cebu City, according to People. Police there obtained a court warrant to search and inspect devices belonging to Thomas Markle Sr. for alleged child sexual abuse material, as BBC News reported. The Philippine National Police refers to the investigation as the "Markle Case". It says the allegations concern material found on digital storage devices recovered from a former residence.
Thomas Markle Sr. has rejected the claims. In a Daily Mail interview, he dismissed the allegations as "sick lies". Earlier, The Sun reported that Thomas Markle Jr. had criticised his father after the older man appeared to shift blame for the alleged images.
The inquiry has also reached Thomas Markle Jr. The Guardian reported that he has been described as a "person of interest" in the Philippines inquiry, and that a Philippine official said there were signs pointing to his involvement in crime. No charge against him has been reported.
A separate thread concerns London. The Metropolitan Police said it passed a letter to Meghan Markle about claims of alleged offending outside UK jurisdiction in 2019. It said it did not share details with other enforcement agencies. The force has also referred itself to a watchdog over its lack of action on the Thomas Markle allegations, according to Hello! Magazine. The watchdog's findings have not been reported.
Meghan is the wife of Prince Harry. Reuters first reported the Philippine investigation on 23 October. Nobody has been convicted of any offence in the case. Each allegation remains an allegation, and each denial stands as the person's own account.
