Thomas Markle Sr, the father-in-law of Prince Harry, one of the heirs to the British throne, and the father of his wife Meghan Markle, has been arrested in the United States on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material.
The US Justice Department said on Friday that he had been arrested in Florida. Law enforcement acted after sexually explicit images of him with underage girls were found in two storage units he rented in the Los Angeles area. He had rented the two units for about two decades.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday: “Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to rob them of their innocent childhood through criminal acts.”
According to the US Justice Department, the authorities learned in October that a person had stated in an affidavit that child sexual abuse material had been found among Markle’s belongings in the Philippines.
Law enforcement later spoke to another person, who said the 82-year-old Markle had rented a storage unit near Los Angeles since 2008. The second unit was traced from information given by the first person.
After obtaining a court warrant, FBI agents searched the two units and found a total of 78 items, including photos, film negatives and books. The Justice Department alleges that these items show sexually explicit scenes of Markle with underage girls.
The affidavit describes three of the images. In two, a man is seen with a nude girl who had not reached puberty, and a witness identified the man as Thomas Markle. The third shows a nude underage girl in what appears to be a hotel room in the Philippines. The affidavit also says there are images of Markle with children in various states of undress.
Thomas Markle was living in the Philippines earlier this year. After a stroke there, his left leg had to be amputated, and he then had to return to the United States.
Meghan “deeply saddened”
In a statement to The New York Times in October about the allegations against her father, Meghan said she first learned of them in 2018. At the time, a letter setting out the allegations was sent to the relevant unit of London’s Metropolitan Police, which was responsible for her protection.
Referring to reports published in the British tabloid The Sun, Meghan said: “I am deeply saddened by the news that has come to light in the past 24 hours. My heart goes out to any children who may have been harmed.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report