Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested in Florida on federal charges related to the possession of child sexual abuse material.
The 82-year-old was taken into custody on Friday by federal agents, according to an announcement by the United States Department of Justice.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Markle was accused of possessing sexually explicit material involving minors, including photographs allegedly depicting him with underage girls.
According to the Department of Justice, investigators recovered approximately 78 items, including photographic slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material from two storage units in the Los Angeles area.
The agency said the storage facilities had allegedly been rented by Markle for nearly two decades.
Among the recovered material were two images depicting a man, identified by a witness as Markle, with a nude prepubescent girl. Another image reportedly showed a nude girl in a room believed to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines.
Markle is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court on Friday. He has not yet entered a plea. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The arrest follows allegations made public in October by Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., who claimed he discovered a collection of indecent images involving underage children in storage boxes and computer hard drives at his father's residence in the Philippines.
Markle Jr. said he reported the discovery to authorities in the Philippines and the United States.
The Philippine Department of Justice's child abuse unit subsequently confirmed to CNN that the matter was under investigation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation also acknowledged awareness of the allegations, saying it would support Philippine authorities where necessary and investigate any related violations of US federal law.
However, Thomas Markle Sr. vehemently denied the accusations in an interview with Britain's Daily Mail, saying he was shocked and hurt by the allegations made by his son.
He also maintained that he no longer possessed the computer equipment in question after leaving Mexico with his son in 2025.
News of the arrest has also drawn attention because of Markle's estranged relationship with his daughter, Meghan.
The Duchess of Sussex has been largely separated from her father for several years, and he did not attend her 2018 wedding to Britain's Prince Harry.
In October, Meghan said she was deeply distressed by reports that her father allegedly possessed a collection of images depicting child sexual abuse.
A spokesperson for Meghan and Prince Harry told CNN they had no comment following news of the arrest.
The case remains subject to court proceedings, and the allegations against Markle have not yet been proven in court.
