Thomas Markle Held in Custody After US Authorities Say He Cut Off Ankle Monitor
Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, is in custody in Florida after US authorities said he cut off his electronic monitoring device and was arrested shortly afterwards.
According to Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, Markle removed the ankle bracelet at 1:45am on Tuesday. The bracelet is a tracking device worn on the ankle as a condition of release from custody. Markle is being held while he awaits a hearing in federal court in Tampa, Florida.
The latest arrest followed an earlier one on Friday. Authorities had seized about 78 items from Los Angeles-area storage, including slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse images. The Guardian reported that the criminal complaint describes strips of 35mm film negatives taken from a unit registered to Markle, with about 18 images identified as apparent child pornography. Markle had rented the storage units since 2008, and the most recent automatic payment was made on 14 October.
That first arrest also drew attention. Last week, Markle was taken by ambulance from a senior care centre in Lakeland, Florida, and released hours later on the condition that he wear electronic monitoring. Authorities said that a few days later, at 1:45am on Tuesday, he cut the device off.
US magistrate judge Lindsay Griffin, who handles early stages of federal cases, agreed on Tuesday that Markle must now be kept in custody. Prosecutors are asking the court to revoke his release and to hold him in detention until his trial, according to Essayli. The judge has also ordered a mental competency exam, an assessment of whether a defendant is mentally fit to take part in criminal proceedings. The report is due by 20 November.
Markle is the father of Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The two have been estranged for years, and the case against Markle concerns allegations that have not been tested in court.
