Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has been arrested in Florida after authorities allegedly discovered a large cache of child sexual abuse material in two Los Angeles-area storage units.
Thomas, who was taken into custody at a senior living residence, faces one count of possessing child pornography, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Investigators said they found 78 items in storage units allegedly rented by Thomas, including slides, film negatives and books containing child sexual abuse material.
“Two images depict an adult man—whom a witness identified as Markle—with a nude prepubescent girl,” prosecutors said. “The third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines.”
According to an affidavit, one image shows an adult male touching “the girl’s exposed vagina with his right middle finger.”
Authorities also recovered additional photographs that “appear to show Markle with children in various states of undress,” according to the statement.
“Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida. The FBI will use every resource at its disposal to protect innocent children—any predator who targets children will have no safe haven in this country or anywhere else they try to hide.”
FBI Launched Investigation Into Thomas Markle After Multiple Tips
The arrest came weeks after Thomas’ son, Thomas Markle Jr., told The Sun that he had found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sexual abuse images at his father’s home in the Philippines.
“What I saw made me sick to the stomach—all this stuff was just dumped on me and I didn’t know what to do,” he told the outlet. “I knew right away it was highly illegal and would land me in jail for a long time if I didn’t get rid of it. I felt betrayed, angry and disgusted—and realized I had to report him.”
Thomas later denied his son’s accusations to The Daily Mail, calling them “terrible lies.”
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me,” the former Hollywood lighting engineer told The Daily Mail. “I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
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The FBI opened its investigation into Thomas’ alleged activities last month after receiving reports from “different witnesses,” according to the affidavit.
One witness told investigators that Thomas also rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area. Court records say 27 items were seized there, including slides, film negatives and books. The investigation then led authorities to a second unit, where they recovered another 51 items.
According to court records, Thomas had rented one of the units around July 2008 and paid for it through autopay. The most recent payment was made in October 2026. Boxes labeled “Tom Markle” were also found inside.
Thomas, who recently underwent a foot amputation, was photographed being wheeled from his Florida senior living residence in handcuffs, according to images obtained by The Daily Mail.
When a reporter asked whether he was a pedophile, Thomas answered “no.” He did not respond when asked whether he had ever possessed child pornography.
If convicted, Thomas could face up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.
It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
Meghan Markle Said She Was “Deeply Disturbed” by Allegations
A representative for the Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on the arrest to People. Meghan previously addressed the allegations against her father after The Sun published its report in October.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” she said in a statement to Oxygen at the time, “and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
Meghan said she first learned of “troubling and disturbing allegations” involving her father in 2018, the same year her estrangement from Thomas Sr. began.
“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,” she said. “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.”
