Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old father of the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, has been arrested in the United States. He is accused of possessing material depicting sexual violence against children. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, the US Department of Justice said. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Arrest and court appearance

Federal agents arrested Markle in Florida on Friday, November 6. He later appeared before a court in Tampa. A judge allowed him to await trial under house arrest with electronic monitoring. No plea was entered at the first hearing, Reuters reports.

Evidence seized in searches

According to the investigation, Markle stored prohibited materials in two storage units in the Los Angeles area, which he had rented since 2008. During searches, agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books with allegedly illegal images.

The case materials describe, among other things, photographs of a man with an underage girl. One witness identified the man as Markle, the investigation claims.

FBI director's statement

"Mr. Markle allegedly selected innocent children as victims and sought to rob them of their innocence through his criminal actions," FBI Director Kash Patel said.

How the investigation began

The FBI launched its investigation in October after a witness reported finding suspicious materials among Markle's belongings in the Philippines. Another witness spoke about a warehouse he rented in California. The information obtained allowed agents to identify a second premises as well.

Philippines investigation

Earlier, authorities in the Philippines also began a probe into Markle. He has denied the accusations, calling them a "disgusting lie." Meghan Markle, who does not maintain a relationship with her father, has said she is "deeply upset" by the allegations.

History of the family rift

Meghan Markle stopped communicating with her father after a scandal ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. Thomas Markle took part in staged photo shoots for paparazzi but, according to his daughter, denied cooperating with the press. The Duchess called the deception a betrayal. The conflict later escalated when he handed a personal letter from her to a tabloid.