By Karim Hammam
Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old father of the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested Friday at a senior living facility in Lakeland, Florida, on a federal criminal complaint alleging possession of child sexual abuse material. FBI agents took him into custody at the Maravida Senior Living care home, where he had been recuperating from recent medical treatment, and he was photographed in a wheelchair being led away.
Federal Charges and Court Appearance
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Thomas Wayne Markle of Lakeland, Florida, faces one count of possession of child pornography. The complaint alleges he kept sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades. Markle is expected to make his initial appearance today in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
Investigation Spanned Multiple Countries
The arrest followed a report last month by Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, who handed over a cache of alleged child abuse images he discovered in his father's belongings in Cebu City, Philippines. A second collection was reportedly found last week during a raid by Mexican police on a storage unit near Markle's former home in Rosarito, Mexico. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for California Bill Essayli announced the arrest.
Attorney General to Address Press
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to hold a press conference following the arrest announcement. The Department of Justice statement confirmed the Florida man's arrest on the federal complaint detailing the alleged possession of child sexual abuse material across two storage units.
