Meghan Markle's Dad Thomas Charged After Being Reported to FBI — as New Storage Units Containing Alleged Child Abuse Material is Discovered in LA
Thomas Markle Sr. faces one count of possession of child abuse materials.
Nov. 6 2026, Published 12:09 p.m. ET
The FBI has officially charged Thomas Markle Sr., RadarOnline.com can report, on allegations that Meghan Markle's estranged father kept child sexual abuse material in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.
Markle Sr. was arrested early Friday morning at an assisted living facility in Florida.
The FBI Busts Thomas Markle Sr.
He was arrested in Florida Friday morning.
Markle Sr. is expected to make his first appearance on the charge today in the United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the 82-year-old allegedly had a collection of inappropriate material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls.
"Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions," FBI Director Kash Patel 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."
"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," he concluded.
Thomas Markle Sr. Rented 2 Storage Units in Los Angeles
Thomas Markle Sr. allegedly was still paying for a pair of storage units in Los Angeles.
The FBI started its own investigation stateside in Markle Sr. after the former Hollywood lighting director was accused of having child abuse material on his computers in the Philippines.
According to authorities, U.S. law enforcement officials "interviewed another individual who disclosed that Markle rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area." That tip later led agents to a second unit.
"Pursuant to judicially authorized warrants, FBI special agents searched two storage units registered to Markle. Markle has rented both storage units since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made last month by auto-pay," the statement revealed.
Seized Items Inside the Storage Units
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest in a statement.
Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected abuse material.
The affidavit describes three of those images, as the statement explains: "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 statement noted.
The affidavit also describes additional photographs that appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress.
Thomas Markle Sr. Was Arrested in Florida
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Markle Sr. has denied all accusations and charges against him.
Authorities took Markle Sr. into custody on Friday morning at the Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland, Florida. He was recently diagnosed with dementia and moved into a "memory care" facility in the city, which is approximately 30 minutes outside of Tampa.
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.
He told authorities, "I have never had s-x with anyone under the age of 18," before noting, "I like Asian women, but that is not a crime."
