Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested on allegations he possessed child abuse images. The 82-year-old was taken into custody near Tampa, Florida, on Friday, November 6, according to the Associated Press.
The US Department of Justice said: "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, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
Duchess 'deeply distressed' by allegations
Meghan, who moved back to the UK with Harry in August, said she was "deeply distressed" at the allegations about her father, from whom she has been estranged since the run-up to her 2018 wedding.
She revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2019 which made "troubling and disturbing allegations" about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.
The Met has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), now investigating the force's conduct.
Background and court appearance
The duchess had wanted to "speak out" immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said. When former TV lighting director Mr Markle had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the duchess to contact him.
Meghan is said to have written him a final letter in which she said she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Markle is expected to appear later today in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
