FBI Seizes 78 Items in Probe of Duchess's Father

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday that Thomas Markle Sr., father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested in Florida. The federal government is prosecuting him on allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse material in two storage units in the Los Angeles area.

The Justice Department stated that Markle allegedly kept sexually explicit photographs, including images of himself with prepubescent girls, in units he rented from 2008 until last month. The most recent payments for both locations were processed via auto-pay in October. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently seized 78 items from the facilities. These items included slides, film negatives, and books containing suspected abuse material. The affidavit filed in federal court notes that agents found at least 18 images in one unit that appear to constitute child pornography.

According to the court documents, two of the seized images show an adult man identified by a witness as Markle Sr. with a nude prepubescent girl. A third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines. Other photos allegedly show Markle Sr. with children in various stages of undress. Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement that the allegations are extremely serious and that the department will prosecute Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.

The investigation began after Markle was detained by authorities in the Philippines last month for alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. A spokesperson for the Philippine National Police told CBS News that the agency launched an inquiry after Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., turned over his father's personal items to law enforcement. Markle Jr. told The Sun tabloid that he reported the images to Philippine police and contacted the FBI. He stated, "I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years, but that stops now."

The Daily Mail first reported the arrest and previously alerted the FBI to a cache of child pornography found in a storage unit near Markle Sr.'s former home in Rosarito, Mexico. The Baja California State Attorney General's Office confirmed to CBS News on Friday that a search was conducted on Oct. 29 following a report via the 911 emergency line. The office said agents found three old magazines and VHS tapes containing child pornography during the operation. The evidence and case files were referred to the Attorney General's Office in Mexico for follow-up.

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the case in a statement, saying Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions. Patel added that the FBI will use every resource at its disposal to protect children and that any predator who targets them will have zero safe haven. If convicted, Markle Sr. faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Markle is scheduled for an initial court appearance in Tampa, Florida, on Friday. It was not immediately known if he has retained an attorney who can respond to the allegations. The case remains under seal, according to one source familiar with the matter. In the Philippines, Markle denied the claims against him, calling them "sick lies." He told the Daily Mail, "I have never downloaded anything like that in my life."

Following the public reports of the investigation, Meghan released a statement saying she had known about the allegations for some time. She stated that the decision to cut off contact with her father and prevent him from seeing their children was made to protect them. Meghan said, "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."

Last year, Meghan wrote to Markle in a letter obtained by the Daily Mail. The letter was sent to his hospital room in the U.S. in December 2025. In the letter, Meghan wrote that she and authorities knew he had abused young girls and that he would never meet their children, Archie and Lilibet. Sources say Meghan will not be commenting on the arrest at this time.