The Daily Mail has referred Thomas Markle, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, to the FBI after reporting that sexually explicit material involving children was found in a storage unit he rented near his former home in Mexico.
The material reportedly includes books about pedophilia, magazines depicting the sexual abuse of children and loose photographs of naked Asian women—some of whom appear, according to the publication, to be unusually young.
The Daily Mail traveled to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, to investigate Markle’s former life there after being told that he had rented and later abandoned a storage unit.
Receipts reviewed by the publication show that Markle rented the 5ft-by-10ft unit in 2017, six years after relocating to Rosarito, about 10 miles from the US border.
The Daily Mail said its reporter was allowed to enter the unit after Markle allegedly fell behind on lease payments for two years.
The reported contents include magazines published in Asia and depicting child sexual abuse, alongside family keepsakes, photographs and personal letters.
The publication also reported finding 35mm negatives showing what appear to be random, voyeuristic images of children on a beach. Other negatives allegedly depict a woman bound or “hogtied” while being directed by a man during a photo session.
The discovery came as police secured a warrant to examine child-sex images allegedly found among boxes of Markle’s possessions at his son’s home in the Philippines, where he moved after leaving Rosarito in January 2025.
The Daily Mail said it alerted the FBI after finding sexually explicit books, magazines and photographs—including images of Asian women who appear unusually young—in a Mexican storage unit rented by Thomas Markle
The storage unit reportedly contains about 20 boxes, including books about pedophilia and magazines depicting the sexual abuse of children
Earlier this week, Filipino official Jonvic Remulla said the 82-year-old former Hollywood lighting technician could be a “sex offender of the grossest kind.” Remulla said “all signs” indicated that a serious offense may have been committed.
The investigation began after Thomas Markle Jr. brought the reported stash to the attention of the Philippine National Police.
Markle denies any wrongdoing.
The reported discovery at the Mexican facility, located about three miles from Markle’s former residence, adds another dramatic turn to a case that could result in a prison sentence of 10 to 12 years if he is charged and convicted.
Markle was living in Rosarito when his relationship with Meghan deteriorated. Before her 2018 wedding, he was caught working privately with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of photographs, despite Prince Harry’s appeals for the media to give his future father-in-law privacy.
Most of the photographs found in the unit’s 20 boxes appear to date from the period when Markle was in his 40s or 50s. He was 43 when he and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, divorced in 1987 after eight years of marriage.
Nearly half of the 31 black-and-white photographs, each measuring roughly 10 inches by 8 inches, appear to show the same girl. In one image, Markle—bearded and dressed in a polo shirt and jeans—sits on a hotel bed beside her, holding a cigarette in his right hand and looking toward the camera.
The girl appears relaxed and smiling. She is pictured wearing a white lace top, a white belt and dark jeans, while holding a small bag.
One undated photograph reportedly shows Markle sitting on a bed with his arm around a young Asian woman; both are fully clothed. She also appears alone and naked in several other images
The storage unit reportedly contains more than 50 videotapes, with titles including ‘Boys – Brother and Sister – Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites’
But in the same hotel room she is also photographed naked and leaning forward, a necklace with a heart emblem around her neck.
Sixteen more 10x8inch black and white prints show various other naked girls. There is no evidence that Markle had sex with any of them.
Elsewhere in the storage unit are more than 50 video tapes, with titles such as ‘Boys – Brother and Sister – Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites.’ Precisely what is on these tapes is currently unknown.
A stack of books includes titles such as Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People and The Invisible Children.
He also has the book Victorian Children, which contains photos of naked young girls from that era; Young Aphrodites, which pictures young girls; David Hamilton’s Private Collection, with photos of young girls; and Hollywood Lolitas. There is a soft-cover book called Le Fairy, again printed in the Far East, which contains naked photos of girls who appear pre-pubescent.
There is also a paper plate with the words ‘DARK WEB’ scribbled in red ink alongside various URLs.
Markle has seven hard drives stripped from computers in the storage unit.
There is also an old computer tower, with a paper taped to it that reads ‘Overheated… Virus!’
The Daily Mail is told that Thomas Markle Sr first rented the storage unit in 2017 but stopped paying rent on it in 2024
Several books have themes of pedophilia with titles such as Hollywood Lolitas
Another stack of books includes titles such as Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People and The Invisible Children
Also stuck on the tower are instructions on how to run the WinCleaner program, which wipes hard drives of all information, along with an activation code.
Four computer pen drives are in the unit along with two digital cameras from the early 2000s and two cameras designed for use by children. There is also an old Apple computer.
It is unknown what remains stored on any of the devices.
Markle did not respond to the Daily Mail’s several attempts to reach him for comment.
Our reporter is told that he visited the unit a couple of times a month in the early years after renting it, bringing in items and taking others away.
The last time he was seen there was in March 2024 when he renewed the lease for three months. He has not been seen since.
His son, Thomas Jr, never visited the unit, nor did other people, according to a source.
Markle is now in a rehab facility in central Florida where he is recovering and learning to walk again following the amputation of his left leg in the Philippines 11 months ago.
The Daily Mail also uncovered VHS tapes – including one labeled ‘Manila Nites.’ The precise contents of the tapes are not known
An old computer tower was found with a note reading ‘Overheated Virus!’ taped to it, alongside digital cameras and flash drives. It is unknown what is on the devices
Instructions on how to run a WinCleaner program, which wipes hard drives of all information, along with an activation code, were seen in the unit
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There is also a paper plate with the words ‘DARK WEB’ scribbled in red ink alongside various URLs
It was shortly after that operation that exclusive images taken by the Daily Mail showed the moment Markle was given a letter from Meghan cutting him out of his grandchildren’s lives.
The explosive message revealed Meghan ‘knew her father had abused young girls’ and that he would never meet his grandchildren, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
Last week Markle admitted that he paid for sex in the Philippines when he was single. ‘I never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,’ he said. ‘I like Asian women but that is not a crime.’
And he strongly denied his son’s claims that he downloaded child sex images onto computers and cellphones shared with authorities in the first haul, saying they are ‘the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.’
After moving to Mexico, the former lighting director for hit shows General Hospital and Married… with Children lived a secluded life in a rented property in the gated community of San Antonio del Mar.
His former property is currently undergoing reconstruction.
Locals the Daily Mail spoke with this week said he was rarely seen, apart from the odd foray to an expat bar, a minimarket and a Walmart.
‘Frankly, he seemed to live like a hermit. Nobody in all the years he was here really got to know him,’ said one local.
Receipts seen by the Daily Mail confirm the Rosarito Beach unit was rented by the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged dad after he moved from Los Angeles to his retirement home in Mexico
Thomas Markle, who previously worked as a lighting director on hit TV shows and soap operas, left Los Angeles for Rosarito in 2011. He is pictured in 2018
General views of Markle’s former home in Rosarito, Mexico, just ten miles south of the US-Mexico border
He left the Philippines in May to stay at a rehab center in Florida, leaving his possessions in Cebu, Philippines with his son, Thomas Jr, who had been his caretaker.
The Sun reported last week that Thomas Jr, 60, found ‘hundreds, if not thousands’ of child sex images in four boxes, and had reported his father to Filipino detectives and the FBI in the US, which are both investigating.
One 35mm photograph reportedly shows a bearded man resembling Markle having sex with a young Asian girl – although he has said in response that he has ‘never been in a photograph like that.’
Thomas Jr said: ‘When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad. I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years, but that stops now. I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.’
He later said: ‘I’m so, so sorry Meghan. I now know I have been protecting the wrong person for the past nine years. Having seen what I’ve seen, I believe the man I’ve been defending and caring for is a monster.’
After his revelation, Meghan said in a statement she had learned of child sex allegations in 2019 after being contacted by British police.
She said she was assured the ‘troubling and disturbing’ allegations were being investigated and was advised that speaking out could jeopardize any legal case.
The Daily Mail approached Samantha Markle at her home in Florida to ask about the contents of her father’s Mexico storage unit. Her boyfriend, Mark Phillips, answered the door and Samantha could be seen in the background but chose not to speak.
Phillips said: ‘The only statement that you’re going to get is that Thomas Markle doesn’t even have fingerprints on the stuff in the Philippines…He didn’t even ever touch it the whole time it was there, he can’t be charged.
‘Markle never had it in Mexico either…The FBI has no jurisdiction in Mexico. Thomas Markle Sr hasn’t lived in the States in 10 years. Even if there was bad [material] then the statute of limitations ran out five years ago. This is all bulls**t.’
Additional reporting by Andrea Noel and Emma James
Controversial images of children and study of pedophiles among books hoarded by Thomas Markle
Books hoarded by Thomas Markle include an album of photographs collated by a convicted child abuser and a study of pedophiles since criticized as being apologetic.
Dusty tomes found in a Mexican storage locker rented by the Duchess of Sussex’s father all hint at a fascination with sexualized children and illicit acts.
Among the books is a pictorial collection called Victorian Children, published in 1972, which includes numerous images of semi-naked youngsters in suggestive poses.
The book was co-authored by English photographer Graham Ovenden, known for his explicit portraits of young girls, who was jailed in 2013 for abusing children as young as six during the 1970s and 80s.
After his conviction, major British and international art galleries including the Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum removed Ovenden’s works and, in 2015, a judge ordered that his personal collection of paintings and photographs be destroyed.
Other books found in Markle’s locker include Young Aphrodites, a photographic accompaniment to the 1963 Greek film of the same name by Nikos Koundouros.
The film tells the story of a 12-year-old village girl who is wooed and ultimately raped by a shepherd in Ancient Greece.
The girl, played by actress Kleopatra Rota when she was just 16, spends most of the film semi-naked and the story implies that she came to enjoy the experience of being raped.
In the 1962 book Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, also among Markle’s collection, sexologist Robert Masters devotes a whole chapter to pedophilia.
Modern reviews of the book have noted that it dismisses the emotional trauma suffered by victims of child sexual abuse while musing on how many men are attracted to underage girls.
The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People, written in 1981 by Irving and Amy Wallace, is a directory of celebrities with agonizingly detailed information about their sexual proclivities.
The individuals included are listed in the index according to their sexual preferences, under headings such as ‘prostitutes, ordinary and exotic,’ ‘incest,’ ‘baby fetish’ and ‘men who enjoyed girls 16 years old or younger.’
In the section devoted to silent movie ‘king’ Charlie Chaplin, the authors note that he ‘relished the prospect of deflowering budding virgins’ and tell how he recruited ‘star-struck starlets…both on screen and in bed’, including his second wife, Lita Grey, who first ‘grabbed Chaplin’s attention’ when she was just six.
The world of adolescent and child prostitution is explored in detail in The Invisible Children, also found in Markle’s stash.
The 1984 book by renowned investigative journalist Gitta Sereny details how desperate young runaways have turned to selling their bodies for cash, and how trafficked children are forced into a life of prostitution.
Further underlining Markle’s apparent fascination with prostitutes is the 1961 book Stews and Strumpets, which provides a detailed history of sex work dating back to primitive tribal societies and Ancient Greece and Rome.
Nude and semi-nude photographs of young girls feature heavily in Hollywood Lolitas: The Nymphet Syndrome in the Movies – which Markle apparently has at least two copies of, with one also in a box taken away by police in the Philippines.
The 1998 book by Marianne Sinclair is described as ‘a portrait gallery of the cinema’s most famous nymphettes.’
However, recent reviewers have criticized it for failing to recognize that young actresses such as Brooke Shields, who first appeared nude on screen when she was just 12, were exploited for the titillation of men.