Thomas Markle Sr., father of Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, has been arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material.
Mr. Markle is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
He’s accused of keeping the material at two Los Angeles-area storage units that he has rented since 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said Friday.
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FBI agents found 78 items inside the two units, including books, film negatives and slides alleged to contain child sexual abuse material.
The images Mr. Markle is accused of keeping at the units include photos depicting him with “a nude prepubescent girl” and another of a nude prepubescent girl inside a motel room in the Philippines, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Mr. Markle, who moved to Florida in the spring after living abroad for years, is also accused of having caches of child pornography stored near former homes in the Philippines and Mexico. He was arrested Friday at a senior living facility in Lakeland, Florida, outside Tampa, sources told the Daily Mail.
In addition, Mexican authorities raided the alleged cache of material in Mexico, and authorities in the Philippines are close to bringing formal charges against Mr. Markle over the alleged cache located there, according to the Daily Mail.
Mr. Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., accused him of having child sexual abuse material on a computer at the home they formerly shared in the Philippines. Samantha Markle, his other daughter, has accused her brother of fabricating the claims after being cut off financially.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s wife and an actress, said after those allegations became public last month that “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,” according to the BBC.
She has forbidden him from meeting her children since 2018, when she learned about other allegations made against him.
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