Meghan Markle‘s father was arrested on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. Thomas Markle was arrested outside Tampa, Florida, on Friday, November 6.
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Thomas Markle Arrested Over Alleged Child Sexual Abuse Material
Thomas Markle has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint over possession of child pornography, according to the Department of Justice. The 82-year-old allegedly kept child sexual abuse material that included sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls in a storage locker. The material was reportedly found inside two storage units in Los Angeles, and Markle has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography so far.
“The FBI and our partners have arrested Thomas Markle Sr. after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM),” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in a press release. “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, Manila, and Marshall Islands Law Enforcement Attaches, and our partners who executed quickly in this case.”
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The FBI reportedly seized 78 items that included film negatives, slides and books with suspected CSAM. Two images allegedly show Markle with a nude prepubescent girl in a Philippines’ motel room. Additional photographs reportedly captured Markle with children “in various stages of undress.”
“Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected CSAM,” reads the DOJ press release. “Two images depict an adult man – whom a witness identified as Markle – with a nude prepubescent girl. 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.”
The allegations came to light after Thomas Markle Jr. claimed he found disturbing images in his father’s home in the Philippines, per The Sun.
Meghan Markle Villainized By Press Over Estrangement
The Duchess was villainized by the British press for her estranged relationship with her father. Namely, during her engagement to Prince Harry. He did not attend her wedding and has not met her children. One TV host, Piers Morgan, had Markle as a guest on his show ‘Good Morning Britain‘ to talk about it. Piers criticized Meghan for their estranged relationship and had Mr. Markle on his program repeatedly over the years to bash her. Morgan even blamed Meghan — not the police — for not coming forward about the child pornography allegations sooner after the news broke.
Fans Go IN Over British Media’s Treatment Of Duchess
Fans quickly weighed in on TSR’s Instagram page after the arrest, and Roomies showed support to the Duchess in the comment section. Multiple folks noted her poor treatment by the British press while others took shots at Mr. Markle.
User @onlypenelopepina wrote, “And the British media was upset with Megan and tried to demonize her for not loving her father enough or including him in her life now look!!!!”
@jessshai added, “WELPPPPPPPPPPPPP.”
User @iamphionakatz added, “And they bullied her for not wanting anything to do with him.”
@cherry_chazza replied, “And ToxicBritishPress are using Meghan’s pic’s and name. Hence they never used Andrew’s daughters names in his case.”
@inked.diego replied, “Everybody who was talking sh*t about Meghan should be sorry. She had a reason not to have contact with her dad …”
User @__iamterrence wrote, “And ya’ll wonder why she ain’t want nothing to do with her daddy!”
@kayla.l.smith added, “Never forget how the media , especially the UK, treated her for keeping herself and her children away from her own father. Women do not do this without a reason!”
User @masinelije replied. “And now you see why she didn’t fw her family!”
@mbusosimamane added, “Why is this guy so embarrassing 🤦🏾 Just as his daughter announces that they moving back to England to see what they can do..”
User @adoree_hazel31 wrote, “Just embarrassing his child smh.”
@itsmetheputa added, “And the entire media will make this about Meghan as if she didn’t go no contact.”
@lavishlifewithegypt noted, “And no this don’t have ish to do with Meghan so keep it moving 😒.”
Meghan Markle Releases Statement
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex released a statement to PEOPLE prior to the arrest after the allegations surfaced in October.
“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,” said the Duchess. “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.”
She went on to reference the chatter over the estrangement.
“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,” she said in the statement. “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.”
