Meghan’s father Thomas Markle arrested over allegations he possessed child sex abuse material

As we’ve reported, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said Thomas Markle Sr has been “charged with one count of possession of child pornography”.

If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the DoJ.

He will make an initial appearance in the United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.

Last week, the Daily Mail reported that it had alerted the FBI of a cache of child sex abuse material found inside a storage unit that Thomas Markle Sr had rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico.

The Baja California State Attorney General’s Office, in Mexico, has today told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that a search operation was carried out on 29 October, following a 911 report.

“During the operation, three old magazines and VHS tapes containing child pornography were discovered,” the office says, adding that the evidence and case files were referred to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), which will handle the follow-up to the case.

Thomas Markle previously lived in Mexico before moving to the Philippines last year.

Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is due to appear in a Florida court after being charged over possession of child sex abuse material.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) earlier confirmed the 82-year-old had been arrested and “charged with one count of possession of child pornography“.

The department said he was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sex abuse material, “including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades”.

FBI director Kash Patel said authorities “moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material” and arrested Markle in Florida – more on his statement here.

Markle has previously strongly denied allegations that he had possessed images of child abuse, labelling them as “sick lies”.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are so far not commenting on the arrest of Meghan’s father. Last month Meghan confirmed that in 2019 she had been forwarded a letter by the UK’s Metropolitan Police making “disturbing allegations” about Thomas Markle.

Markle Sr is due to make his initial appearance in the United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa at 13:30 ET (18:30 GMT).

Ione Wells
North America correspondent

In about an hour, Thomas Markle Sr will make his first court appearance at a district court in Florida.

There are no cameras allowed inside the courtroom.

It’s not clear how much detail we will get from this appearance, but we may learn whether he plans to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge, and whether he will remain in custody or could be released on bail.

Earlier, when news of Thomas Markle’s arrest first emerged, we were told that the case was under seal.

Being under seal may mean not all details of a case are made public.

Sealing a case is often done to protect victim identities or keep confidential information private.

The judge can always choose to unseal the indictment if they believe the public interest outweighs those privacy concerns.

Thomas Markle is due to make his initial appearance in court at 13:30 ET (18:30 GMT) today.

It will take place at the United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, the DoJ earlier said.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are so far not commenting on the arrest of Meghan’s father, according to a spokesman for the couple.

But on Tuesday, Prince Harry and Meghan are due to appear in Brussels, opening the so-called Lost Screen Memorial, which remembers children who lost their lives because of the harms of social media. That’s likely to include a speech about keeping children safe online.

They may well be asked questions about Thomas Markle and the situation in Meghan’s family in the US.

Last month Meghan confirmed that in 2019 she had been forwarded a letter by the UK’s Metropolitan Police making “disturbing allegations” about Thomas Markle. The letter had been written by his first wife.

FBI director Kash Patel says authorities “moved quickly” in the arrest of Thomas Markle.

In a statement, Patel says: “Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.”

FBI agents worked with the US Department of Justice and “moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida”, he says.

Patel adds: “This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids – any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide.”

We can now bring you more from the statement released just now by the US Department of Justice.

Thomas Markle, the statement says, has been “charged with one count of possession of child pornography”.

The statement alleges Markle “kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades”.

Giving detail about the searches leading to Markle’s arrest, the statement describes searches of Los Angeles storage units rented by Markle since 2008.

Inside, it says, “agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected CSAM (child sexual abuse material)”.

Markle is expected to appear later today in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, the statement adds.

The US Department of Justice says: “A Florida man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

“Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.”

Thomas Markle was arrested in Florida, according to the BBC’s US media partner CBS News.

Pictures published by the Daily Mail and the Sun appear to show Markle in handcuffs surrounded by FBI personnel while he sits in a wheelchair.

In a statement released last month after the allegations about her father emerged, the Duchess of Sussex said in a statement: “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.”

She added that she hoped it could be understood why she had largely cut off contact from her father.

What we know:

• Thomas Markle Sr – the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex – has been arrested in connection with allegations he possessed child sex abuse material, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News
• Markle has strongly denied all allegations against him previously, and labelled recent allegations that he had possessed images of child abuse as “sick lies”

• His daughter Meghan revealed in October that she had been informed by letter about “disturbing allegations” in early 2019

What we don’t know:

• When Markle Sr was arrested – and where
• Whether the Duchess of Sussex has been informed

Three sources familiar with the matter tell CBS News – the BBC’s US media partner – Meghan’s father Thomas Markle has been arrested in connection with allegations he possessed child sex abuse material.

The case remains under seal, one of the sources adds.

Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested over allegations he possessed child sex abuse material.

• This is a breaking news story – we’ll bring you more information shortly