Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan Markle, has been arrested in Florida after investigators allegedly discovered a collection of child sexual abuse material in two storage units in the Los Angeles area.
Markle was taken into custody at a senior living facility and charged with one count of possessing child pornography, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Federal authorities said they recovered 78 items from storage units allegedly leased by Markle. The material reportedly included slides, film negatives and books containing child sexual abuse material.
“Two images depict an adult man—whom a witness identified as Markle—with a nude prepubescent girl,” prosecutors stated. “The third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines.”
According to an affidavit, one image allegedly shows an adult male touching “the girl’s exposed vagina with his right middle finger.”
Investigators also said they found additional photographs that “appear to show Markle with children in various states of undress.”
“Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the statement. “Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida. The FBI will use every resource at our disposal to protect innocent children—any predator who targets children will have no safe haven in this country or anywhere they attempt to hide.”
FBI Launched Investigation Into Thomas Markle After Multiple Tips
The arrest follows allegations made several weeks earlier by Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., who told The Sun that he had found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sexual abuse images at his father’s home in the Philippines.
“What I saw made me sick to the stomach—all this stuff was just dumped on me and I didn’t know what to do,” he told the publication. “I knew right away it was highly illegal and would land me in jail for a long time if I didn’t get rid of it. I felt betrayed, angry and disgusted—and realized I had to report him.”
Markle denied his son’s allegations in comments to The Daily Mail, calling them “terrible lies.”
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me,” the former Hollywood lighting engineer told The Daily Mail. “I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
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The affidavit states that the FBI opened its investigation into Markle’s alleged conduct last month after receiving information from “different witnesses.”
One witness reportedly told investigators about a storage unit Markle rented in the Los Angeles area. Authorities seized 27 items there, including slides, film negatives and books, according to court records. Investigators then identified a second unit, where they recovered an additional 51 items.
Court documents say one of the units had been rented by Markle around July 2008 and remained active through automatic payments, with the latest payment made in October 2026. Boxes marked “Tom Markle” were reportedly found inside.
Markle, who recently underwent a foot amputation, was photographed being taken from his Florida senior living residence in handcuffs, according to images obtained by The Daily Mail.
When a reporter asked whether he was a pedophile, Markle answered “no.” He did not respond when asked whether he had ever possessed child pornography.
If convicted, Markle could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
It remains unclear whether he has hired an attorney.
Meghan Markle Said She Was “Deeply Disturbed” by Allegations
A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on Markle’s arrest when contacted by People. Meghan previously addressed the allegations after The Sun published its report in October.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” she said in a statement to Oxygen at the time. “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
Meghan said she first became aware of “troubling and disturbing allegations” involving her father in 2018, the year their estrangement began.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she 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. I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”