Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested in Florida on Friday over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with minors, the Justice Department announced.He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to a criminal complaint.The FBI seized around 78 items from two storage units rented by Markle that contain “suspected child pornography,” according to court documents.
Items seized include film negatives featuring an adult man with naked “pre-pubescent” girls, and a witness “positively identified the adult man as Markle,” according to the documents.Markle, 82, is expected to make his initial appearance Friday in the U.S.District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, the Justice Department said.“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr.
Markle to the fullest extent of federal law,” First Assistant U.S.Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.“Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr.
Markle in Florida,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.His arrest comes weeks after authorities in the Philippines said they were investigating allegations that he kept child sexual abuse images at his home while living there.Authorities in the country later said they had recovered thousands of photos featuring “underage male and females.” Markle, a retired television lighting and photography director, denied the allegations last month, calling them “sick lies.”A spokesperson for the Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, declined to comment on the arrest.Meghan and Prince Harry moved back to Britain this summer after several years in the U.S.Christopher Furlong / GettyMeghan said in a statement last month that she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father.
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