Meghan Markle’s dad was arrested on Friday morning and charged with possession of child pornography.
Thomas Markle, 82, was arrested in Lakeland, Florida, after law enforcement officials said they discovered he was keeping explicit photos of prepubescent girls in storage units in Los Angeles. If convicted, Markle faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Criminal defense attorney Josh Ritter said in an interview that the nature of the alleged images could lead to additional charges. “He’s looking at spending the rest of his life in prison if this is true.”
The New York Times reported that the FBI seized 78 items from two different storage units, including slides, film negatives, and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material. According to the Justice Department, an affidavit describes two images of an adult man identified by a witness as Markle with a nude prepubescent girl. A third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in what appears to be a motel room in the Philippines.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson ordered Thomas Markle to be released “on personal recognizance” and placed under home detention and electronic monitoring. Markle is restricted to travel within the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California.
Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., said he reported his father’s alleged possession of child pornography to authorities. “I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years — but that stops now,” he told The Sun. “I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”
Meghan Markle has not publicly commented on Friday’s arrest, but addressed allegations against her father in an October 23 statement. Thomas Markle had previously denied the allegations.
“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 said in a statement. “In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”
Meghan said she hoped the allegations helped explain why she had cut ties with her father.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them. I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” she added.
Her father did not attend her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, and just months after the wedding, Meghan sent him a letter asking him to stop talking to the news media.
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