Meghan Markle’s father was arrested on federal child abuse image charges after the FBI searched two more of his storage units

Thomas Markle had already been under investigation in two countries, and the case has now reached a federal courtroom in the United States. The 82-year-old father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was arrested Friday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with one count of possession of child pornography, according to the Justice Department.

Markle, who lives in Lakeland, Florida, was expected to make his initial court appearance the same day in federal court in Tampa. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, which said the charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. However, Markle is presumed innocent, and the complaint contains only allegations.

The arrest followed FBI searches of two storage units in the Los Angeles area that prosecutors said were registered to Markle and rented since 2008. Agents executing court-approved warrants seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books. Those searches came after authorities in Mexico and the Philippines had already opened their own inquiries into Markle.

Prosecutors say the case started with belongings Markle left in the Philippines

According to prosecutors, law enforcement learned in October of suspected child sexual abuse material among Markle’s belongings in the Philippines. That led to an interview about a storage unit in the Los Angeles area, and then to a second unit. The affidavit filed with the complaint describes three images, including two that allegedly show a man a witness identified as Markle with an undressed young girl.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called the allegations “extremely serious” and said prosecutors would pursue the case “to the fullest extent of federal law.” FBI Director Kash Patel also weighed in, saying predators who target children will have no safe haven. The FBI’s offices in Los Angeles and Tampa worked the case, along with FBI staff posted in Mexico, Manila and the Marshall Islands.

The investigation first became public weeks ago, when Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., came forward. He said he found what he described as hundreds of child abuse images while going through boxes at his father’s former home in Cebu, the Philippines. Philippine police later said three memory cards and a cell phone he turned over contained abuse material.

Markle has denied wrongdoing throughout the investigation. Days before the federal charge, police raided his Mexico storage unit near his former home in Rosarito. Markle told a British outlet at the time that he had no storage units there, and his daughter Samantha Markle has called the allegations a setup.

Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018. In a statement after the allegations surfaced, she said she was “deeply distressed” by them and that she had blocked contact between her father and her children over earlier allegations she called “troubling and disturbing.” However, it was not immediately clear whether she would comment on the federal arrest, as her earlier statement came before any charges were filed.

The criminal complaint is only the first step in the federal case, as prosecutors would typically need a grand jury indictment to move forward. Markle’s age and health could also become factors. He had his left leg amputated after a blood clot in late 2025, and he has been reported to be living in a care facility in Florida.

Markle’s next hearing will likely determine whether he stays in custody while the case moves toward a possible indictment in California.