Thomas Markle Sr. arrested by the FBI on suspicion of possessing child pornography was captured in a new photograph being wheeled out of a Florida senior living facility in handcuffs.
The , shared by The Sun and obtained by Page Six, shows the 82-year-old former lighting director being pushed by a female FBI agent from the Maravida Senior Living care home in Lakeland. Markle, who uses a wheelchair after having his left leg amputated last December, wore a black cat graphic T-shirt and black sweatpants.
The arrest took place Friday, days after Markle had moved into the facility. His relocation followed confirmation by authorities in the Philippines and Mexico that they were investigating him over child porn offenses.
Storage Units Searched in Los Angeles
According to a federal criminal complaint, FBI agents searched two storage units rented by Markle in the Los Angeles area and seized roughly 78 items, including material suspected of containing child sexual abuse imagery.
The filing alleges that Markle appears in two images alongside an underage girl. A witness who has known him since the 1970s identified him as the adult in the photos, according to the complaint. Additional pictures in the unit reportedly showed Markle with children in various states of undress.
In a statement released by the Department of Justice, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said his office would pursue the case aggressively.
Essayli said Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through criminal actions. He added that agents worked with Justice Department partners to quickly identify and locate the explicit material and arrest Markle in Florida.
Family Allegations and Denials
Markle returned to the United States in May for medical care after living in the Philippines for more than a year. Last month, his son Thomas Markle Jr. said he had discovered alleged child abuse materials in his father’s Philippines home and turned the findings over to authorities.
Thomas Jr. claimed he found hundreds, if not thousands, of images, some allegedly depicting girls between the ages of 10 and 11 engaging in sex acts, in storage boxes. Markle Sr. denied the allegations, calling them sick lies.
Samantha Markle defended her father and accused her brother of a revenge plot. Thomas Jr. has since been named a person of interest in the child porn probe.
Meghan Markle's Response
Meghan Markle has said the investigation left her deeply disturbed and that she first learned of the troubling and disturbing allegations in a 2018 letter sent to the Met Police in London. She has said she cut her father out of her life to protect her and Prince Harry’s two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
Page Six confirmed that Meghan and Harry will not address her father’s arrest. The couple, who moved back to the UK in August with their children, are set to take off on their first overseas trip on Nov. 10.
