Meghan Markle's Father Thomas Back in Custody After 'Cutting Off His Ankle Monitor' While on House Arrest for Child Abuse Material Charge

Thomas Markle is back behind bars after allegedly removing his court-ordered ankle monitor, violating a key condition of his release on bond following his arrest in Florida, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Meghan Markle's estranged dad was taken into custody at a Tampa assisted living facility on November 6, after federal investigators allegedly uncovered a disturbing stash of child sexual abuse material inside California storage units linked to him. Despite the horrifying allegations, he was initially allowed to return home under strict house arrest conditions.

"Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr. Markle to remain out of custody pending trial. He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device. He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night," First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced in a Tuesday, November 10 post on X.

"Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law," he added.

Thomas' arrest came after an FBI investigation led to a raid on two storage facilities in Los Angeles that the former TV lighting director had kept up payments on for the past 20 years.

Inside, authorities found disgusting images of an allegedly younger Thomas with prepubescent girls, believed to have been taken in the Philippines. Two pictures showed a clothed man believed to be Thomas with a nude girl on his lap, while others depicted children in various stages of undress.

FBI agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected child s----- abuse materials. Essayli noted that the possession of child p--- charge carried a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Thomas' child abuse scandal erupted on October 22, when his son, Thomas Markle Jr., handed Philippine police four boxes allegedly belonging to his father that he claimed were packed with highly disturbing images found on cell phones, computer hard drives, books, magazines, and cameras.

Thomas Jr. said he made the horrifying discovery while clearing out his dad's former home in Cebu City, Philippines, where the pair had relocated in January 2025 after the former Emmy-winner spent more than a decade living in Mexico.

Philippine authorities are now combing through the materials as part of an ongoing investigation, while the FBI conducted a parallel probe into Thomas' Los Angeles storage units, located in the city where he spent years working in Hollywood and raising Meghan, 45.

Meghan threw herself into the scandal by releasing a statement on October 23, claiming she'd known about the allegations against her dad for years.

The allegations came from Thomas' first wife, Roslyn Loveless, whom he divorced in 1975. She claimed he told her about traveling overseas for the purpose of having s-- with underage girls, included in a seven-page letter to the Met Police.

"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," she began.

"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 added.

Prince Harry's wife has since come under fire for not raising the red flag with authorities herself about the highly troublesome allegations after learning about them or at any time in the eight years since.