Authorities in the Philippines are preparing to pursue criminal charges against Thomas Markle after investigating allegations involving child sexual abuse material.
The father of the Duchess of Sussex could face a charge of possessing alleged Child Exploitative Sexual Material (CESM) as early as tomorrow, ITV reported.
The development came a day after the 82-year-old was arrested by the FBI in Florida and accused of possessing child pornography.
Investigators in the United States and the Philippines have been working together on the case.
Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, reportedly contacted the FBI after allegedly finding child sexual abuse material at his father’s home in Cebu.
He handed Filipino police four boxes of items, including laptops, hard drives, mobile phones, old videotapes and books.
Detectives received a warrant on Thursday allowing them to examine the contents of the four storage boxes.
Philippine police searched nine mobile phones, three SD cards, five hard drives, a camera and another non-digital item. They reportedly found more than 7,000 images depicting child sexual abuse, allegedly belonging to Thomas Markle Sr.
Thomas Markle, 82, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested by the FBI in Florida on Friday over an allegation involving child pornography
The Daily Mail’s discovery of Markle’s storage unit in Mexico last week, followed by an alert to the FBI, set the US criminal investigation in motion
Officials said the images and one video showed underage males and females of Asian, Latin American and European backgrounds, including some children believed to be as young as 10 or 11.
Jonvic Remulla, the interior and local government secretary, described the material as “the most deplorable displays of impunity towards sexual activity that I have ever seen”.
The FBI has been tracing the serial numbers of several mobile phones as part of efforts to establish that they belonged to Thomas Markle Sr.
Prosecutors in the Philippines have reportedly been waiting for that confirmation before filing a criminal case.
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Mr Markle moved from Mexico to the Philippines in January last year, then relocated to the United States in May after undergoing an amputation of his lower leg. Mexican police raided a unit in Rosarito one day after the Daily Mail alerted the FBI.
Guardia Nacional officers, who identified themselves as state sex-crimes investigators, entered the 5ft by 10ft storage vault. Markle is reportedly believed to have stopped paying rent on it in 2024.
Mr Markle was arrested after federal agents arrived at his Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland on Friday morning.
A collection of material, including sexually explicit images that allegedly showed him abusing minor girls, was reportedly found in two storage units he had rented in Los Angeles for almost 20 years.
Mexican police raided the Rosarito unit one day after the Daily Mail alerted the FBI. Guardia Nacional officers identifying themselves as state sex-crimes investigators entered the 5ft by 10ft vault shortly after midnight
The Duchess of Sussex said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations involving her father in the Philippines. She has not commented on the developments in Mexico reported last week
Meghan’s father was taken into custody in a wheelchair, wearing handcuffs, before being placed in an ambulance.
The silver-haired retiree was still wearing the same scruffy T-shirt and black sweatpants when he was wheeled into court for an initial hearing on Friday afternoon. His hands could be seen trembling.
The arrest followed the seizure of “approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books” containing suspected child sexual abuse images, according to First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli.
After his arrest in Polk County, Markle appeared in federal court in Tampa and was released to his senior care centre on the condition that he wear an electronic monitor.
When allegations against Mr Markle emerged last month, the Duchess of Sussex said a letter had been sent to the Metropolitan Police’s royal protection team in early 2019 outlining claims of child sexual abuse involving her father.
She also said she had never permitted her father to meet her children, Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, “for one reason: to protect them”.
The Duchess, who moved back to Britain over the summer after six years in the United States, has been estranged from her father since marrying Prince Harry in May 2018.