Thomas Markle Sr, who was arrested Friday on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, depending on the alleged victims’ ages and the court’s assessment of his mental condition.
According to a federal complaint, FBI agents searching two Los Angeles-area storage units rented in Markle’s name found slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child pornography. Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s 82-year-old estranged father, was arrested in connection with the alleged discoveries.
The complaint describes one image as showing a “pre-pubescent girl” in a sexually explicit pose.
In two images, the girl allegedly appears alongside a clothed Markle, who is described as touching her. The document states that “the child’s nudity, pose, and the adult man’s actions appear designed to elicit a sexual response from the viewer.”
If the girl, or any of the subjects in the 76 other images seized by the FBI on October 30, was between 12 and 17 when the photographs were taken, a conviction for possession could carry a sentence of up to 10 years.
However, if the girls were younger than 12—as the FBI’s reference to a “pre-pubescent” child suggests—legal experts told Our News Outlet that Markle could face as much as 20 years in prison, potentially for the remainder of his life.
Those potential penalties relate only to the material recovered in Los Angeles.
Any sentence could be substantially longer if Markle were separately charged and convicted over alleged child sexual abuse material kept in Mexico or the Philippines, where authorities are investigating two additional caches.
The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father Thomas Markle, 82, was arrested by the FBI in Florida on Friday for allegedly possessing child porn
Markle Sr’s arrest by the FBI on Friday morning begs the question: Who knew, for how long, and did nothing?
It was the Mail’s discovery of Markle’s storage unit in Mexico last week (pictured, above) and our immediate alerting of the FBI that has contributed to this long overdue outcome.
Police in both countries are examining the alleged images and videos in cooperation with US federal authorities.
Friday’s arrest came days after Our News Outlet alerted federal investigators to a cache of suspected child pornography found in a storage unit Markle had rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico.
In the Philippines, police are also reportedly “very close” to filing formal charges after Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr, allegedly found child abuse images at the home they once shared last month.
Markle previously told Our News Outlet, “I had no storage units in Rosarito!” He has also denied wrongdoing in connection with the alleged discovery in the Philippines.
Meghan Markle’s father, a retired Hollywood lighting and photography technician, was taken into federal custody early Friday. He was photographed looking stern in handcuffs as he was wheeled from the assisted living and memory care facility in Lakeland, Florida, where he had been staying for about a week.
Markle did not enter a plea during an initial court hearing Friday afternoon. He was released on bond and ordered to remain under house arrest with electronic monitoring.
A central issue in the case is Markle’s reported dementia, which he and his eldest daughter, Samantha, have said he is experiencing.
Although details of his alleged condition remain unclear, legal experts told Our News Outlet that if Markle possessed the material before the onset of dementia, that fact would likely provide limited support for a defense based on his condition.
The Duchess and her husband Harry, the Duke of Sussex, were told what the FBI had found stashed inside her father’s LA storage units on Friday
The Duchess of Sussex said she was ‘deeply distressed’ by the allegations engulfing her father in the Philippines. She has not commented on the developments in Mexico since they surfaced last week
Mexican police raided the unit in Rosarito just one day after Our News Outlet alerted the FBI. Guardia Nacional officers who identified themselves as state sex crimes investigators entered the 5ft by 10ft vault just after midnight
The court must also determine whether a possible dementia diagnosis could affect Markle’s ability to stand trial or receive a sentence.
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“Defense attorneys have an ethical duty to raise competence when they have genuine concerns that their client is understanding what they need to understand,” said Daniel Murrie, a professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia who has spent 20 years evaluating defendants’ competency.
Murrie and other specialists said a landmark 1960 US Supreme Court decision could be relevant to Markle’s case.
In Dusky v. United States, the court ruled that a psychiatric diagnosis alone does not determine whether a defendant is competent to stand trial.
“Dementia exists along a continuum… and depends on how specific people function,” said Dr Nicole Schneider, a clinical and forensic psychologist in Colorado who has assessed about 40 people with dementia diagnoses for legal competency.
The Dusky decision establishes three areas that must be considered when evaluating a defendant:
- Factual understanding of the proceedings — meaning, do they comprehend basic facts such as the charges against them and the roles of the judge, prosecutor and defense lawyer?
- Rational understanding of the proceedings, such as whether they grasp how the case specifically pertains to them in a rational way, not just superficially. Are there, for example, delusions or other impairments confusing them about their case as they prepare for and stand trial?
- Ability to consult with counsel — in other words, can they come up with witnesses or evidence that could help in their defense? In Markle’s case, that could mean remembering where his alleged child sexual abuse materials came from, where and how they were downloaded and whether anyone else had access to his computer or storage units.
“With a case of dementia, it’s a lot harder because memory is a big part of any defense case,” Schneider said.
These abilities can be examined through neuropsychological and memory testing, including assessments of whether a defendant may be exaggerating or deliberately overstating impairments.
“Good evaluators are trained and ethically bound to consider the credibility of symptoms and whether defendants might be faking or exaggerating them,” Murrie said.
Among the photos in the unit is an undated image of Markle on a bed and with his arm wrapped around a young Asian female, both fully clothed. She appears, alone and naked, in several other pictures as well
Among the stash of alleged child pornography, Thomas Sr held images that are said to be of him ‘abusing pre-pubescent girls’
Thomas Sr is pictured after he was arrested over allegations of possession of child porn in LA
Under federal law, competency evaluations may continue for a “reasonable period,” generally no longer than 30 days. The director of an examining facility can request an additional 15 days.
Murrie told Our News Outlet that about half of defendants assessed in such cases are found incompetent.
Defendants deemed incompetent may receive treatment intended to restore their ability to stand trial. However, Murrie noted that dementia is rarely treatable to the point of restoring full cognitive function.
Federal civil rights law prohibits holding defendants indefinitely when their competency is unlikely to be restored. In such circumstances, charges could be dismissed, or the defendant could be civilly committed to a psychiatric facility against their will.
The federal government operates three facilities for defendants in those circumstances, located in Butner, North Carolina; Springfield, Missouri; and Ayer, Massachusetts.
Markle, pictured arriving at court, made his initial appearance in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa
FBI agents swarmed the 82-year-old’s Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida. Markle was released under house arrest on Friday afternoon
A dementia diagnosis, along with a defendant’s age and overall health, may also be considered a mitigating factor that could reduce a sentence after a conviction.
The United States Sentencing Commission has recognized advanced dementia as a potential basis for compassionate early release from prison.
Previous convictions could increase a federal sentence. However, Our News Outlet’s review of public records found no indication that Markle has a prior criminal record.
The federal possession charge filed Friday carries no mandatory minimum sentence. If convicted, Markle could potentially receive a fine without a prison term.
Our News Outlet contacted Markle’s court-appointed attorney but has not received a response.
