The Duchess of Sussex’s father has been arrested by federal agents in the US on charges related to child sexual abuse material, it has been reported.
Thomas Markle Sr was taken into custody near Tampa, Florida, according to the Associated Press.
His detention comes after he was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by his son, Thomas Markle Jnr after he allegedly found illegal images in his father’s belongings in Cebu City.
A second hoard was reportedly discovered last week in a storage unit Mr Markle is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by police.
Mr Markle Sr, who was living in a dementia care home in the US, has admitted to paying for sex in the Philippines but has denied ever possessing child abuse imagery.
Meghan, who moved back to the UK with Harry in August, said she was “deeply distressed” at the allegations about her father, from whom she has been estranged since the run-up to her 2018 wedding.
She revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2019 which made “troubling and disturbing allegations” about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.
The Met has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), now investigating the force’s conduct.
The duchess had wanted to “speak out” immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said.
When former TV lighting director Mr Markle had his leg amputated in the Philippines last year, he made pleas for the duchess to contact him.
Meghan is said to have written him a final letter in which she said she knew he was an abuser and that he would never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
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