Thomas Markle Sr., the 80-year-old estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, spent 16 months living in Cebu City in the Philippines, a location international agencies have repeatedly identified as one of the world's biggest hotspots for online child exploitation.
Markle Sr. resided in Cebu City from January 2025 until May 2026. Police say he arrived on a short-stay visa and moved in with his son and full-time carer, Thomas Markle Jr., who has looked after him since a stroke in 2022.
Why Cebu?
Markle Sr. reportedly moved to Cebu primarily to escape constant media scrutiny and to secure a cheaper cost of living with affordable medical care. He reportedly chose the city because Markle Jr. was already relocating there, moving primarily to live with his Filipina wife and stepchildren while also seeking a fresh start and lower cost of living away from the US.
After initially staying in a three-star hotel, the father-son duo reportedly rented a flat in an air-conditioned high-rise near the coast. Footage obtained by Sky News showed a building with marble floors, chandeliers and a concierge desk, with rent said to be around £500 a month.
Nevertheless, locals told the Mirror he struggled in Cebu's heat and humidity, relying on a cane and his son's help, and his health deteriorated sharply. In December 2025, after a severe blood clot, doctors were forced to amputate his lower left leg.
Return to the US and charges
The need for ongoing rehab helped trigger his return to the US in May 2026, when he later settled in a Florida retirement facility. He appeared in court last Friday following the seizure of slides, film negatives, and books in storage in LA.
Markle Sr. has been charged with one count of possessing child pornography after a stash was found in two California storage units. His son, Thomas Jr., has also reported his dad after finding alleged child sexual abuse material belonging to him in the Philippines. Markle Sr. denies all allegations.
Cebu's long-standing notoriety
Cebu's notoriety is long-standing. Human rights groups and law enforcement describe it as a global epicentre for Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC), driven by poverty, English fluency, fast internet and easy international money transfers. The province hosts a field office for the International Justice Mission and works with partners including the UK National Crime Agency and the Australian Federal Police via the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center.
Other high-profile cases linked to Cebu include Kenneth Gaylord Stokes, a 71-year-old American citizen and prior sex offender living near Cebu who was arrested in an undercover operation by US Homeland Security Investigations. In 2015, a US federal court sentenced him to 120 years in prison without parole.
Operation Endeavour, a joint investigation led by the UK's National Crime Agency, the Australian Federal Police, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, dismantled an organised crime network operating largely out of Cebu and nearby regions, resulting in 29 international arrests. Nelson Turayno, previously listed as Europol's most wanted sexual offender, was captured in Cebu City in 2019 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
