Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, hopes an investigation into her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., will deliver justice for alleged victims after he was charged in the United States with possessing child abuse material, according to The Sun.
The newspaper reported that FBI agents arrested Markle, 82, following searches of two storage units he rented in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege that the material recovered included photographs depicting him with underage girls. A close friend of Meghan told the newspaper: “It is her sincerest hope that a full and thorough investigation will now help deliver justice for the victims.”
Meghan and Prince Harry were reportedly informed of the findings before Markle’s court appearance. According to the report, agents recovered 27 items from the first storage unit on October 30, including slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child abuse material.
A search of the second unit on November 5 reportedly uncovered another 51 items. Investigators alleged that 18 images on old 35mm negatives showed a man identified as Markle abusing children. Markle had reportedly continued paying approximately £520 a month to rent the units despite not visiting them for several years.
An FBI affidavit cited by the newspaper said investigators used a specialist scanner to convert the negatives into digital photographs. The affidavit described images allegedly showing abuse involving young girls, including unclad children.
Investigators said they interviewed witnesses to establish the identity of the man pictured. One person who reportedly knew Markle in the 1970s was among those said to have identified him. Agents also recovered expired driving licences that helped link the stored belongings to Markle, according to the report.
The newspaper said investigators traced a location associated with the photographs to the Philippines after identifying the name “Anahaw Lodge” in one image. The US investigation followed a report made to Philippine authorities by Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, who said he discovered disturbing material among his father’s belongings.
According to The Sun’s account, its journalists travelled to Cebu City on October 17 to examine the allegations. Thomas Jr. disclosed his discovery on October 19, and the newspaper’s team began examining four boxes of belongings the following day. The boxes reportedly contained computers, DVDs, cameras, videotapes and photographic negatives.
Thomas Jr. submitted a sworn statement to Philippine prosecutors on October 21. The newspaper said a copy was subsequently handed to an FBI agent in Tampa, Florida, on October 22, before the material in Cebu was surrendered to local police on October 23. Thomas Jr. later told investigators about the Los Angeles storage units. The newspaper reported that agents searched the second unit shortly after publishing details of his contact with the FBI.
Markle was reportedly taken from his care home in handcuffs before appearing in court in a wheelchair. The retired Hollywood lighting director had returned to the United States after a blood clot led to a leg amputation last December, according to the report.
Authorities in Mexico are also investigating material reportedly discovered in a storage unit near Markle’s former home in Rosarito Beach, where he previously lived. The allegations have drawn renewed attention to warnings reportedly sent to British police by Markle’s former wife, Roslyn Loveless, who divorced him in 1975 and passed on in 2024.
The Sun reported that Loveless had raised concerns about his conduct during trips to the Philippines and Thailand. It also said the Metropolitan Police had referred itself to an oversight body over its handling of a warning received in 2019. First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: “Mr Markle is accused of possessing child s3xual @buse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls.”
“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.” Prosecutors said Markle faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.