Federal agents arrested Thomas Wayne Markle, the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at his home in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday.
He is facing one federal count of possession of child pornography, according to a DOJ press release.
From CNN:
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested Friday by federal agents in Florida on charges related to child sexual abuse material, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
“Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli, who leads the Los Angeles-based US Attorney’s office.
The 82-year-old allegedly kept “sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades,” the DOJ said.
Agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse material, the agency said. Two images depict a man – whom a witness identified as Markle – with a nude prepubescent girl, the DOJ said. Another image depicts a nude girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines, federal investigators said.
Markle is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court Friday and has not yet entered a plea. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, the DOJ said. CNN is working to determine if Markle has legal representation.
The investigation began after Thomas Markle Jr., the suspect’s son, told The Sun he found inappropriate images of underage children in storage boxes and on computer hard drives at his father’s house in the Philippines. He reported him to authorities in the Philippines and the United States.
BREAKING: Meghan Markle’s estranged father has been arrested by federal authorities at a senior living facility in Lakeland, Florida, as disturbing allegations involving child sexual abuse material emerge overseas. Reports claim thousands of suspected illegal images and videos were discovered at locations connected to Thomas Markle in the Philippines and Mexico. Markle denies the allegations, while the FBI says it is aware of the claims and will assist authorities in the Philippines. Download the Fox News app for the latest details: https://t.co/BAyV31y5kz
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 6, 2026
The Justice Department said law enforcement learned of the storage unit in Los Angeles in October and soon found a second unit.
Markle has denied wrongdoing. In an interview with the Daily Mail he said: “I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me.”
He told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, that the allegations are “sick lies.” His daughter Samantha Markle defended him and accused her brother of fabricating the allegations. “There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever, and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him,” she said.
Meghan addressed the allegations against her father in a statement: “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”