Thomas Markle Sr. was allegedly caught removing his ankle monitor ahead of a court hearing on child pornography charges, prosecutors said.
Markle, 82, is accused of cutting off the GPS device early Tuesday, only days after his arrest over allegations that he stored child sexual abuse material in California storage units.
US Attorney Bill Essayli disclosed the allegation Tuesday, saying Markle attempted to remove the monitor while released from custody pending trial.
Essayli said Markle had been ordered to wear the tracking device ahead of his court appearances, but allegedly cut off the bracelet at about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Prosecutors are now asking the court to revoke Markle’s release and hold him in custody until trial, Essayli said.
A spokesman for the US Marshals Service, the federal agency responsible for tracking Markle through the GPS ankle monitor, said officials were working to determine exactly what had occurred.
“The adult living facility would not take him back. So, he was released to the custody of his other daughter who lives in Lakeland, Florida. And that’s the last that we’ve heard.”
Markle was arrested Friday after federal agents seized about 78 items—including slides, film negatives and books—that allegedly contained child sexual abuse images from storage units in the Los Angeles area, Essayli said.
Thomas Markle, 82, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested by the FBI in Florida on Friday and accused of possessing child pornography
The 82-year-old was taken into custody when federal agents arrived at his Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday morning.
The arrest followed a report by Our News Outlet to the FBI about the contents of a storage unit Markle had rented in Mexico, where investigators allegedly found child pornography.
The former Hollywood lighting director was charged with one count of possessing child pornography.
Markle did not enter a plea during his initial court hearing. After being released on bond Friday evening, he was ordered to remain under house arrest at his care home.
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However, the assisted living facility reportedly declined to allow him to return. He was subsequently said to have moved in with his daughter Samantha.
At the hearing, a judge also ordered Markle to undergo a mental competency evaluation. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 20.
Markle’s daughter Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father and that the “troubling” claims contributed to their estrangement.
Markle was arrested days after Our News Outlet alerted federal authorities to an alleged stash of child pornography in a storage unit he rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico
The Duchess of Sussex said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations involving her father in the Philippines. She has not commented on developments in Mexico since they emerged last week
Exclusive Our News Outlet photographs showed Markle, who uses a wheelchair after having his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, being escorted from his care home in handcuffs on Friday
Asked by an Our News Outlet reporter whether he was a pedophile during his arrest, Markle replied in a weak voice, “No.” He did not answer when asked whether he had ever collected child pornography
Meghan said a letter outlining the allegations had been sent to police in 2019. In a statement, she added that she had been “given assurances” the claims were being investigated.
“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,” Meghan said.
Exclusive Our News Outlet photographs taken Friday showed Markle, who is wheelchair-bound after undergoing a leg amputation in the Philippines last year, being led from the care home in handcuffs.
Looking distressed, Markle scowled and glanced around in apparent disbelief as agents placed him inside a waiting ambulance.
When an Our News Outlet reporter asked whether he was a pedophile, Markle answered in a faint voice: “No.” He remained silent when asked whether he had ever collected child pornography.
After child pornography was allegedly found in a storage unit Markle rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, reports said police in the Philippines were also “very close” to filing charges against him.
