SENIOR HOME SWOOP

Meghan Markle’s Dad Busted in Florida Over Vile Child Porn Claims

“Any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide,” the agency said in a statement.

Meghan Markle’s father has been arrested after the FBI allegedly found “sexually explicit photographs” of him posing with a “prepubescent girl.”

Federal agents raided a Florida care home on Friday to take Thomas Markle, 82, into custody after searching storage units held in his name in Los Angeles. The Department of Justice said he has been charged with possessing child pornography.

It comes after two weeks of reports alleging Markle kept child abuse images in storage lockers in Mexico and the U.S., as well as at his former home in the Philippines.

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Harry and Meghan Plot First U.K. Christmas Since Royal Rift

Molly Mulshine

Photographs show a wheelchair-bound Markle in handcuffs being pushed by FBI personnel. It is the latest development in a global investigation into Meghan’s dad, who has been disowned by her and turned in to the police by his son.

The DOJ said: “A Florida man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

“Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.”

He is due to appear in court in Florida later on Friday. A DOJ press release said it seized about 78 items, including two pictures that “depict an adult man – whom a witness identified as Markle – with a nude prepubescent girl.”

It added: “The third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines. The affidavit also describes additional photographs that appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress.”

Thomas Markle Jr. reported his dad to police in the Philippines last month after the alleged discovery of a hoard of images at his former home in the city of Cebu. A string of news stories then claimed to have found similar stashes in his Mexico and L.A. lock-ups.

FBI Director Kash Patel said: “Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions. Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida.

“This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids—any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide.”

The Filipino police investigation into Markle Sr. is still ongoing, with Markle Jr., 60, also being named as a “person of interest” in the probe he sparked.

The country’s Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla told a press conference on Thursday that police had “signs that point” to Markle Jr. being “involved in the crime as well”—but said he was not being treated as a suspect.

“To accuse the father only is only half the police work,” he added, according to News5 Philippines.

Remulla also said that Filipino authorities have found around 7,500 “sensitive materials of underage males and females” on devices involved in the investigation. The images were “the most deplorable displays of impunity towards sexual activity that I have ever seen,” he said.

Markle Sr. has previously denied the allegations, branding them “sick lies” and “the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”

He moved to Florida this year after having his leg amputated while living in the Philippines, and had recently been moved to the care home, which specializes in caring for people with dementia.

The Royalist has contacted Thomas Markle Jr. and Remulla’s office for comment.

After the allegations about Markle Sr. first surfaced two weeks ago, Meghan quickly released a statement saying she’d been told about similar claims in a 2018 letter from the Metropolitan Police.

Play Video

Meghan, 45, said: “I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.

“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.

“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. Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”

RED LETTER DAY

Thomas Markle Scandal Reveals Why Meghan Ditched Him

Tom Sykes

The Met later corrected the timeline to 2019, and the letter has since been attributed to Markle Sr.’s first wife, Roslyn Loveless. The Met has since referred itself to a police watchdog agency after criticism over its apparent decision not to follow up on the letter.

Meghan wrote a letter of her own to her father last year, according to the Sun, while he was in hospital in the Philippines after having his leg amputated—breaking off contact and telling him she would never let him meet her grandchildren.

Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandal? Follow all Tom Sykes’ reporting at The Royalist on Substack or listen to The Royalist podcast on YouTube.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Molly MulshineRoyalist reporter

Harry ThompsonNews Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.