Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested by federal agents in Florida on Friday and charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, the Justice Department said.
Markle, 82, was taken into custody at the senior living facility where he lives in Lakeland, Florida. Prosecutors say he kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.
"Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls," said Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. "These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law."
The FBI searched the storage units last week after obtaining a warrant and seized about 78 items, including slides, 35mm film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse material, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. Investigators were alerted in October after an individual reported discovering suspected material among Markle's possessions.
Markle made his initial appearance on Friday in U.S. District Court in Tampa, where a magistrate judge ordered him released and placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. He is not allowed to travel outside the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California. He has not entered a plea, and his arraignment in California has yet to be scheduled but is likely several weeks away.
If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Markle has previously denied the accusations. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
