Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas, 82, Arrested on Charges of Possessing Child Abuse Material — Days After Moving Into 'Dementia Care Home' in Florida

Meghan Markle’s estranged father has been arrested for possession of child abuse material in Florida, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Thomas Markle Sr. was reportedly taken into custody on Friday morning at the Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida, where he has been residing.

As Radar has reported, the 82-year-old is at the center of an investigation in the Philippines, where police are examining belongings discovered by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, at his father's home in Cebu City.

The search has since grown to include a storage unit owned by Markle Sr. in Mexico, which allegedly contained boxes of books about pedophilia and other objects.

Among the alleged inventory were books and magazines showing children being sexually abused. There were also said to be several photographs of naked Asian females of various ages.

That discovery led the FBI's Tampa field office to open its own investigation and search of Markle Sr.'s Florida home. The former Hollywood lighting director was recently diagnosed with dementia and moved into a "memory care" facility.

The material was reportedly found after Markle returned to the U.S. for medical treatment following a stroke resulting in the amputation of his left leg.

According to sources, investigators have been concentrating on photographic negatives and computer hard drives among the items handed to police. One negative is alleged to depict Markle having s-- with a girl who appears to be underage.

The investigation is understood to include 20 undeveloped rolls of film, 45 videotapes, three SD cards, nine mobile phones and five computer hard drives.

Markle Sr. has strongly rejected claims that he has ever possessed images of child sexual abuse, declaring: "I could never do what I'm being accused of. It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of. This is bulls---. It's just a bunch of lies. It's sick."

He has also denied ever having s-- with any minors, but did acknowledge he paid for s-- with adult women during visits to the Philippines, telling authorities, "I have never had s-x with anyone under the age of 18," before adding, "I like Asian women, but that is not a crime."

Markle Sr. maintains that computers linked to the allegations were no longer in his possession after he left Mexico with his son in 2025.

"I will do whatever it takes to clear my name," Markle Sr. previously promised from his Florida rehab home. "I am not well enough to go to the Philippines, but I will speak to anyone who wants to talk to me."

He continued, "I have nothing to hide."

Markle Sr.'s relationship with Meghan, 45, began to unravel shortly before her marriage to Prince Harry in May 2018. The Duchess of Sussex released a statement after the first reports against her father exploded, and revealed the existence of a previously undisclosed letter containing even more disturbing allegations.

"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," Meghan said in her October 23 statement.

"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."