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Meghan Markle’s father Thomas arrested over alleged possession of child sexual abuse material
Meghan Markle’s father has been arrested over allegations that he possessed child sex abuse material.
According to BBC News, Thomas Markle Snr, 82, was taken into custody on Friday, November 6, in Florida, weeks after reports emerged that he was under investigation over the alleged possession of child sexual abuse images.
The investigation followed a report by The Sun, which revealed that Markle had been reported to authorities by his own son, Thomas Markle Jr., after he allegedly discovered disturbing images among his father's belongings at his former home in the Philippines.
Meghan, 45, previously released a statement about the "troubling and disturbing" allegations, revealing that the claims were passed to her in 2018.
"I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed," she penned.
Meghan has been estranged from Thomas Snr. since 2018, when he was caught staging paparazzi photos in the run-up to her wedding to Prince Harry.
"In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me," she wrote. "It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated."
She hopes that "it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them."
The Metropolitan Police subsequently confirmed that it had received a letter containing a "number of claims" relating to Markle Sr. in January 2019, rather than 2018.
They said it passed the information to the office of the Duke and Duchess but did not share it with other law enforcement agencies.
"Following a thorough review of Met Police systems and records, we have confirmed that in January 2019, we received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom," they said in a statement, per BBC News. "It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to the security of the Duchess of Sussex.