Thomas Markle to appear in court charged with possession of child sexual abuse material

Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle Sr, 82, has been charged with possession of child sexual abuse material and will appear in court today in Tampa, Florida, the United States Department of Justice said. His detention comes after he was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by his son, Thomas Markle Jnr after he allegedly found illegal images in his father's belongings in Cebu City. A second hoard was reportedly discovered last week in a storage unit Mr Markle is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by police. First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said: 'Mr Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse 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.' And FBI Director Kash Patel said: 'The FBI and our partners have arrested Thomas Markel Sr. after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). '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. 'Thank you to FBI Los Angeles, FBI Tampa, our Mexico and Marshall Islands Law Enforcement Attaches, and our partners who executed quickly in this case.' Mr Markle Sr, who was living in a dementia care home in the US, has admitted to paying for sex in the Philippines but has denied ever possessing child abuse imagery. Meghan, who moved back to the UK with her husband Prince Harry in August, said she was 'deeply distressed' at the allegations about her father, from whom she has been estranged since the run-up to her 2018 wedding. She revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2019 which made 'troubling and disturbing allegations' about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated. The Met has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), now investigating the force's conduct. The duchess had wanted to 'speak out' immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said. When former TV lighting director Mr Markle had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the duchess to contact him. Meghan is said to have written him a final letter in which she said she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.