The granddaughter of Thomas Markle Sr has described herself as horrified after learning about alleged child sexual abuse material reportedly found by Our News Outlet in a storage unit he rented in Rosarito, Mexico.
The Daily Mail notified the FBI about the Mexican storage unit last week, prompting a raid by Mexican authorities over the weekend. Markle, 82, is also under investigation in the Philippines after another alleged cache of abuse material was reportedly discovered at his former home in Cebu.
In an exclusive interview with Our News Outlet, Noel Rasmussen, 28, whose mother Samantha, 61, is the half-sister of the Duchess of Sussex, called the latest findings “shocking” and said authorities must treat the allegations with the utmost seriousness.
Rasmussen also revealed that she unknowingly helped send a letter containing allegations of child sexual abuse against Markle. The letter ultimately reached her aunt, Meghan, and contributed to the Duchess of Sussex’s decision to sever contact with her father.
Rasmussen said her late grandmother, Roslyn Loveless, Markle’s first wife, asked her to mail the letter to Meghan’s police security team in London but did not tell her what it contained.
“I’m shocked, just absolutely shocked. It’s surreal. It’s disturbing,” Rasmussen said from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Roslyn never mentioned anything relating to pedophilia to me about Sr. She only had the typical complaints of an ex-wife,” she added.
The material reportedly found in Mexico includes nude images of females who appear to be conspicuously young, along with explicit magazines depicting the sexual exploitation of children. One photograph allegedly shows Markle on a bed with his arm around a young Asian female. Both appear clothed in that image, while other photographs reportedly show the woman nude.
In an exclusive interview with Our News Outlet, Noel Rasmussen, 28, the youngest daughter of Samantha Markle, 61, called the reported discoveries “shocking.” Pictured with her late grandmother Roslyn Loveless in 2019, Rasmussen said she helped send the letter containing allegations of child sexual abuse that eventually reached her aunt Meghan
Meghan Markle, pictured as a teenager, has been estranged from her father, Thomas Markle Sr, for years
Meghan’s niece Noel Rasmussen has spoken publicly for the first time about the disturbing allegations involving her grandfather, Thomas Markle Sr, in an exclusive interview with Our News Outlet (Source: Courtesy of Noel Rasmussen)
“She didn’t like some of his behavior. She thought he was wrong. He stayed out too late and came home late.
“Sometimes he came home smelling of perfume. It was typical ex-wife stuff. She never directly told me to stay away from him or said he was a pedophile.”
Loveless, who was 79 when she died at her Albuquerque home in 2024, repeatedly accused her former husband of infidelity during their marriage but did not publicly make the allegations involving child exploitation.
Meghan, 45, has since condemned her father publicly. She said she ended contact with him in 2019 after receiving a letter from Loveless, sent through London’s Metropolitan Police, containing allegations of child sexual abuse.
Rasmussen said her aunt’s decision to distance herself from Markle was understandable given the nature of the claims. She added that she would make the same choice if she had a daughter.
“I believe she was completely justified in doing that,” Rasmussen said. “If I were in her position, I would much rather be safe than sorry.
“I wouldn’t want to give him the potential, chance or opportunity to create another victim. This is far too serious to be dismissed.”
Born and raised in New Mexico, more than 800 miles from Markle’s former homes in Los Angeles and Mexico, Rasmussen said she saw relatively little of her grandfather while growing up. At the time, she attributed the distance to geography.
Thomas Markle Sr, pictured in 2018, is facing investigations in the Philippines and by the FBI after alleged child pornography was reportedly found at properties linked to him
Markle Sr’s son, Thomas Markle Jr, 60, says he discovered alleged child pornography at his father’s former home in Cebu, Philippines, prompting renewed scrutiny. The two men are pictured together in an undated family photograph (Source: Courtesy of Noel Rasmussen)
When she did spend time with him, however, she said he appeared kind and caring and never behaved inappropriately toward her.
“He visited several times—I would say four or five, perhaps. I never had the feeling that he was a creepy man.
“I was never uncomfortable around him. He never behaved inappropriately or acted strangely with me.”
Markle Sr has been at the center of a growing controversy for more than a week, after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, 60, said he found alleged child pornography at the former lighting director’s property in Cebu.
The elder Markle, who now lives in a senior care facility in Florida after losing a leg last December, has strongly denied the allegations. His denials came despite photographs found by Our News Outlet in his rented Mexican storage unit that reportedly appear to include him.
He has acknowledged paying for sex with prostitutes while traveling in Asia but has insisted that the women involved were adults of legal age.
Rasmussen said the latest revelations had made it difficult to reconcile the allegations with her memories of the man she knew as her grandfather.
“One of the hardest things is that there is no neat or simple way to process something like this,” she said.
Meghan has spoken publicly about her father and confirmed that she cut contact with him after learning of “disturbing” allegations against him eight years ago
Rasmussen’s mother, Samantha Markle, pictured with her half-sister Meghan Markle years ago, has publicly defended her father amid the allegations (Source: X/ Samantha Markle)
“You can have deeply complicated feelings about someone being your grandfather while also recognizing that allegations of this kind are extraordinarily serious.”
Regarding her mother Samantha, the only family member to publicly defend Markle, Rasmussen said she believed her mother was struggling to accept the possibility that the allegations could be true.
“I don’t blame her for trying to defend her father because, ultimately, he is still her dad,” Rasmussen said.
“Why would anyone want to believe something so serious about their own parent? It is the worst possible kind of news.
“This is almost as bad as it could get.”
Meghan has also spoken about the allegations, saying she ended contact with her father after she was first alerted to disturbing claims against him eight years ago.
In a statement issued after the investigation in the Philippines, the Duchess of Sussex said the claims involving Markle were passed to her in 2018 after a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police’s royal protection team.
She said she had never permitted her father to meet her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, “for one reason: to protect them.”
The Daily Mail notified the FBI after reporting the discovery of sexually explicit books, magazines and photographs—including images of Asian females who appear conspicuously young—in a Mexican storage unit rented by Thomas Markle
The Duchess, who moved back to Britain with Prince Harry and their children over the summer after six years in the United States, has been estranged from her father, 82, since her wedding in May 2018.
The exact date the 2018 letter was sent has not been confirmed. Sources have said Meghan received a copy that summer, after the royal wedding.
In her statement, Meghan said: “I am deeply distressed by the news that has emerged over 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 later shared with me.
Meghan, now the Duchess of Sussex, is Thomas Markle Sr’s only child with his second former wife, Doria Ragland, pictured with Meghan in 2018
Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, moved back to Britain over the summer after spending six years in the United States
“It contained troubling and disturbing allegations about my father, and I was assured that they were being investigated.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite the distortions published by certain media outlets over the years, my decision to distance myself from my father and not allow him contact with our children was made for one reason: to protect them.
“I trusted that the authorities were taking the same approach to protect other families.
“Although the extent of what has now reportedly been uncovered is more sickening than anyone could imagine, my sincere hope is that justice is served and that the safety and protection of innocent children remain the priority.”
