{"id":11169,"date":"2026-11-06T16:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T16:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/06\/meghan-markles-father-thomas-markle-arrested-by-fbi-in-florida-national-globalnews-ca\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T16:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T16:45:52","slug":"meghan-markles-father-thomas-markle-arrested-by-fbi-in-florida-national-globalnews-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/06\/meghan-markles-father-thomas-markle-arrested-by-fbi-in-florida-national-globalnews-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle\u2019s father Thomas Markle arrested by FBI in Florida – National | Globalnews.ca"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Meghan Markle\u2019s<\/a> father was arrested Friday morning by federal agents in Florida on charges related to child sexual abuse material<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Thomas Markle Sr.<\/a> was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades, according to the FBI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Markle Sr. is charged with one count of possession of child pornography and expected to make his initial appearance Friday in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,\u201d said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. \u201cThese allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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FBI Director Kash Patel said that an investigation revealed that Markle Sr. was \u201cin possession of child sexual abuse material.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions. Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida. This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids \u2013 any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide,\u201d Patel added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case highlights the importance of the involvement of the public, even if it\u2019s a family member or close friend, to be vigilant and speak up if they have information on individuals they suspect may be preying on and exploiting our children,\u201d said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI\u2019s Los Angeles Field Office.<\/p>\n

FBI special agents searched two storage units registered to Markle Sr., who has rented the units in Los Angeles since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made last month by auto-pay, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n

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Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse material.<\/p>\n

If convicted, Markle Sr. would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the FBI.<\/p>\n

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Markle Sr.\u2019s arrest comes\u00a0after The Sun<\/a>, a British tabloid newspaper, reported that Meghan\u2019s half-brother allegedly found images while cleaning out the home of their father in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Meghan\u2019s father denied the allegations against him in a statement to the Daily Mail<\/a>, saying, \u201cI\u2019m shocked, I\u2019m hurt and I\u2019m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could never do what I\u2019m being accused of. It\u2019s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Duchess of Sussex said she was \u201cdeeply distressed\u201d by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse<\/a> images had been found at her estranged father\u2019s former home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Meghan said in a statement to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

She also addressed a letter sent to the Metropolitan Police Service\u2019s Royal and Specialist Protection unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

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Meghan went on to say that she has not had a relationship with her father to protect her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications\u2019 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,\u201d Meghan said. \u201cI trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough 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,\u201d her statement concluded.<\/p>\n

Thomas Markle Sr., 82, was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated. That forced him to return to the U.S., The Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n

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