Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle arrested over child abuse images

Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan Markle, wife of Britain's Prince Harry, has been arrested by US law enforcement on charges of possessing images and videos related to the sexual abuse of children. He was arrested on Friday (6 November) from the US state of Florida.

According to the US Department of Justice, cited by international media Al Jazeera and the Associated Press (AP) on Saturday 7 November, a search of two storage units rented by Thomas Markle in the Los Angeles area found sexually suggestive images of underage girls with him. He had been renting the two units for nearly two decades.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday that Thomas Markle is alleged to have targeted innocent children and tried to take away their childhood and innocence through criminal acts.

According to the Department of Justice, in October a person filed an affidavit claiming that material related to child sexual abuse was found among Thomas Markle's belongings in the Philippines. Law enforcement then spoke to another person and learned that the 82-year-old Thomas had been renting a storage unit near Los Angeles since 2008.

Based on the initial information, investigators also found a second storage unit. FBI officers then searched both units with court permission. They found 78 items in total, including photographs, film negatives and books. The Department of Justice said these included sexually suggestive images of Thomas with underage girls.

The case affidavit describes three photographs. In two of them, a man is seen naked with an underage girl. A witness identified the man as Thomas. A third photograph shows a naked underage girl in what looks like a hotel room in the Philippines. The affidavit also mentions photographs of Thomas with children in various states of undress.

Earlier this year, Thomas Markle was living in the Philippines. After suffering a stroke there, his left leg had to be amputated. He later had to return to the United States.

In a statement to the New York Times in October, Meghan Markle expressed concern about the allegations against her father. She said she first learned of the allegations in 2018. At the time, a letter detailing the allegations was sent to a unit of London's Metropolitan Police responsible for her security.

In the statement, Meghan said the news that had become public in the previous 24 hours had deeply worried her. She said she was heartbroken thinking of the children who may have been harmed.

She added that although various media outlets had long presented the matter in a distorted way, there was one reason she kept her distance from her father and did not allow her children near him: to ensure her children's safety.

Meanwhile, the administration of US President Donald Trump is already facing criticism over how it handles investigations and trials of cases involving child sexual abuse. In particular, the administration has been criticised over the release of investigation files linked to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Last year, King Charles III stripped Prince Andrew of his royal titles to protect the royal family from the controversy arising from his association with Epstein.

Meanwhile, Meghan, Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, returned to the United Kingdom in August.

Thomas Markle is due to appear in a Florida court on Friday. The US Department of Justice said that if the charges are proved, he could face up to 20 years in a US federal prison.