Police in the Philippines have obtained a warrant to examine material recovered from Thomas Markle’s digital devices after his son accused him of child sex offences last week.
The father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is now at the centre of an international investigation after Thomas Markle Jr said he discovered suspected child sexual abuse material at his father’s home in the Philippines.
Markle Sr, 82, has been accused of possessing what his son described as a “sickening” collection of images and videos, allegedly involving girls as young as 10 or 11.
Thomas Jr said he came across the material in July this year while searching through boxes at his father’s home for a phone for his fiancée, Rose. His father had returned to the United States for medical treatment.
He alleged that he also discovered a 15-minute video showing naked girls on an old mobile phone belonging to his father. He then switched on a computer and reportedly saw a screensaver displaying “hundreds” of indecent images.
According to Thomas Jr, the images included photographs of naked girls and material depicting children as young as toddlers.
One 35mm photograph reportedly shows a bearded man resembling Mr Markle having sex with a young Asian girl. “I have never been in a photograph like that,” Markle Sr said on Saturday.
His 60-year-old son reported the alleged material, which he said was found in four large storage boxes, to both the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and police in Cebu in the Philippines. His father remains in a rehabilitation centre in Florida, where he travelled for medical care after a stroke resulted in the amputation of his left leg.
Meghan and her father, Thomas Sr, have been estranged since 2018, when she married Harry
Thomas Markle Jr, Meghan’s brother, said he found the alleged child-abuse material in boxes at his father’s home in the Philippines
Markle Sr denies the allegations, describing them as “sick lies”, and has said he will do “whatever it takes” to clear his name.
A court in the Philippines has now reportedly issued a warrant authorising police to examine the material.
Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla previously said forensic analysis was expected to take a week. However, he said that “right now all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind”.
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A statement from Meghan last week said she was first alerted to “troubling and disturbing” allegations about her father in 2018, when she received a letter written by Markle’s late first wife, Roslyn Loveless, and passed to her by the Metropolitan Police.
UK authorities had previously told the Duchess that allegations concerning her father, contained in a 2018 letter sent to Scotland Yard and later shared with her by police, were being investigated, it is understood.
The Metropolitan Police said it is investigating the claims. However, it is understood that the force had not previously investigated Thomas Sr and is not currently conducting an investigation into him.
In a statement, the Duchess of Sussex said: “I 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.
“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.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice not to 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.
“Although 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.”
The Philippines’ Anti-Trafficking and OSAEC (online sexual abuse and exploitation of children) task force said it is “currently investigating the matter”.
The FBI in the United States is also understood to be considering its own investigation after Thomas Jr reported his findings to the agency.
The agency is understood to have contacted authorities in the Philippines and is preparing to investigate the matter in cooperation with them.
Meghan has been estranged from her father for several years, although she sent him a letter while he was in hospital last year.
The letter reportedly said he would not hear from her again or meet her children, citing allegations that she and authorities were aware he had abused young girls.
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