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Thomas Markle appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Tuesday and was denied bond
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is back in federal custody in Florida after allegedly removing his ankle monitor, according to court documents.
Markle appeared before a federal magistrate judge in the Florida city of Tampa on Tuesday and was denied bond. Prosecutors say he removed the monitor early that morning.
US Judge Lindsay S Griffin found on Tuesday that Markle had violated the conditions of his pretrial release, court documents show.
Markle, who has denied possessing images of child sex abuse, was arrested in Florida last week and placed under house detention. He was also ordered to wear a location monitoring device.
The BBC has contacted his representatives.
Griffin described Markle's housing situation as "untenable", writing in the order revoking his pretrial release that "based on the lack of suitable housing, no condition or combination of conditions would reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community and the defendant's appearance in court".
He also ordered a medical evaluation for Markle and said he "must receive all necessary and prescribed medication unless discontinued by a physician".
"Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions," Bill Essayli, the US attorney for Central California, wrote on X on Tuesday.
"We will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law," he added.
Markle, 82, was first arrested last week after the FBI, acting on warrants, searched storage units in Los Angeles registered to him which he had rented since 2008, with the last payment being made in October this year, the DoJ said.
Inside the units the FBI says agents seized about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books that they allege contained child sex abuse material.
Witnesses "positively identified" Markle in two of the images believed to contain child sex abuse material.
In those images, the man pictured "appears to be in the age range of 30s to 40s", which suggests the alleged abuse dates back decades as Markle is currently 82 years old.
Markle appeared in court last week following his arrest. No plea was taken during the appearance, which set several conditions for his pretrial release, including that he be kept in home detention.
He is charged with one count of possessing indecent images of children, according to the DoJ.
FBI director Kash Patel said last week that Markle "allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions".
Markle has called the allegations "sick lies".
He moved to the Philippines last year after he had a series of strokes, and lived in Cebu until May. He was reportedly learning to walk again in Florida after having his leg amputated.
The duchess has been estranged from her father since 2018. The BBC understands she broke contact with him last year, telling him she and the authorities knew he had abused young girls.
In a previously shared statement, Meghan confirmed the existence of the letter and wrote: "I am deeply distressed... my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed."
She said she hoped it could be understood why she had largely cut off contact from her father and did "not allow him to have contact with our children".
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Meghan's father Thomas Markle under house arrest after child sex abuse material charge
Philippine police obtain warrant to search Thomas Markle's devices
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A federal judge has now revoked Markle’s pretrial release. He'd been under house arrest after being charged with possession of child pornography last week. Markle has previously denied possessing that type of material. NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch reports.
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Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, had his pretrial release revoked after cutting off an ankle monitor while he was awaiting trial on charges of possession of child sexual abuse materials, according to court documents.
Markle was arrested Friday after officials found child sexual abuse images in storage units belonging to him in California, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with minors, the Justice Department said. He was taken into custody in Tampa, Florida, where he was released under house arrest.
He cut off his ankle monitor at 1:45 a.m. Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli alleged.
“We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law,” Essayli said.
A federal judge ordered Tuesday afternoon that Markle remain in custody after violating the conditions of his release. An attorney for Markle in court records did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.
FBI investigators found slides, film negatives and books that included “suspected child pornography” in two storage units Markle rented in Los Angeles, according to court documents. The film negatives included images of naked “pre-pubescent” girls with an adult male, whom a witness positively identified as Markle, the FBI said.
One unit had mail bearing the name “Thomas Markle” and an international driver’s permit with his name and birth date and a photo appearing to be of him, according to a criminal complaint. Markle’s storage rentals date as far back as the summer of 2008, the complaint said.
The seizure last week came weeks after news emerged that an investigation had been opened into Markle in the Philippines over allegations that he kept similar images at his home while he was living there. Thousands of photos featuring “underage male and females” were recovered, authorities said.
Markle has been living in a senior care facility in Florida, according to The Associated Press. He was reported to have been forced to return to the U.S. after having lived in the Philippines after he sustained a stroke and a leg was amputated.
A judge ordered an independent psychological evaluation to determine whether Markle was fit to stand trial. The order noted Markle’s health, age and lack of recall as reasonable cause to believe he may have some mental “disease or defect” that would render him mentally incompetent.
Markle has denied the allegations, describing them as “sick lies.”
A spokesperson for Meghan and Prince Harry declined to comment on the arrest last week.
Last month, Meghan revealed that she was made aware of allegations against her father years ago. She said in a statement that she was “deeply disturbed” by the allegations and that their relationship has been limited over the years.
He did not attend her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, which was the subject of widespread media scrutiny.
Meghan said she has also chosen to keep her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, away from her father for their protection.
“The breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine,” she said.
British police confirmed that Meghan was passed a letter in January 2019 that included “a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom.” London’s Metropolitan Police referred itself to the country’s policing watchdog over the handling of the allegations, saying it had not informed other law enforcement agencies of the allegations.
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Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been placed under house detention at his assisted living facility in Florida after being charged over possession of child sex abuse material.
Markle, 82, was arrested in Florida on a federal complaint alleging he held images that show child sex abuse, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said.
He is charged with one count of possessing indecent images of children, the DoJ said. Markle has previously denied allegations of possessing images of child sex abuse, calling them "sick lies".
In a 30-minute court hearing on Friday he was also ordered to submit to electronic monitoring, but no plea was taken.
At the court hearing, the charges were laid out against him by federal prosecutor Courtenay Derry, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
He was brought into court in a wheelchair, escorted by two US Marshals. Markle was wearing black trousers and a black t-shirt.
No plea was taken during the hearing, and an arraignment date in California will be determined in due course, a joint statement from the DoJ and the US Attorney's Office Central California said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not commented on Markle's arrest.
Markle was arrested after the FBI, acting on warrants, searched storage units in LA registered to him which he had rented since 2008, with the last payment being made in October this year, the DoJ said.
Inside the units the FBI says agents seized about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books that they allege contained child sex abuse material.
FBI director Kash Patel said authorities "moved quickly" when arresting Markle.
"Mr Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions," Patel said.
He added that the FBI would "use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids – any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide".
Thomas Markle appeared in court on Friday
Witnesses "positively identified" Markle in two of the images believed to contain child sex abuse material.
In those images, the man pictured "appears to be in the age range of 30s to 40s", which suggests the alleged abuse dates back decades as Markle is currently 82 years old.
Last month, police in the Philippines obtained a warrant to examine devices allegedly removed from Markle's former home in the country.
Four boxes of material, including computers, phones, hard drives and old video tapes, were handed to officers by Meghan's half brother Thomas Markle Jr.
Markle Sr moved to the Philippines last year after he had a series of strokes, and lived in Cebu until May. He was then reportedly living in a Florida rehabilitation centre learning to walk again after having his leg amputated.
In October, London's Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had received a letter in 2019 making a "number of claims" relating to Markle Sr.
The Met said information contained in the letter, which related to allegations against Meghan's father outside the UK, was passed on to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but it did not share it with other law enforcement agencies.
The force has since voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) over its handling of the letter.
In a statement released in October after the allegations against Markle Sr emerged, the Duchess of Sussex said: "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."
Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018. The BBC understands she broke contact with him last year.
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