Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, charged over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images

The Duchess of Sussex’s father has been charged over alleged possession of child abuse material, including images of himself with young girls.

Thomas Markle has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography.

The seized material was allegedly found in two Los Angeles storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

Authorities said Markle was expected to appear before the United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa on Friday.

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: “Mr Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls.

“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.”

Acting on warrants, the FBI searched the storage units registered to Markle which he had rented since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made last month by auto-pay.

Inside the units, agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected child sex abuse material.

If convicted, Markle would face at least 20 years in federal prison.

Meghan, who moved back to the UK with Harry in August, said she was “deeply distressed” at the allegations about her father, from whom she has been estranged since the run-up to her 2018 wedding.

She revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2019 which made “troubling and disturbing allegations” about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.

The Met has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), now investigating the force’s conduct.

The duchess had wanted to “speak out” immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said.

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When former TV lighting director Markle had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the Duchess to contact him.

Meghan is said to have written him a final letter in which she said she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Markle has denied all allegations against him.

His detention comes after he was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by his son, Thomas Markle Jnr after he allegedly found illegal images in his father’s belongings in Cebu City.

A second hoard was reportedly discovered last week in a storage unit Markle is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by police.

Met Police refers itself to watchdog over letter about Thomas Markle
Thomas Markle investigation is all-too familiar for police in the Philippines
FBI director Kash Patel said: “The FBI and our partners have arrested Thomas Markle Sr after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of child sexual abuse material.

“Mr Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.

“Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr Markle in Florida.

“This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids – any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide.

“Thank-you to FBI Los Angeles, FBI Tampa, our Mexico and Marshall Islands law enforcement attaches, and our partners who executed quickly in this case.”

This is the Talking Royals – our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson