Court releases Meghan Markle's father in child pornography case

A federal court in Florida has decided to release Thomas Markle Sr., the father of the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, accused of possessing child pornography. CBS News reports.

According to the court ruling, 82-year-old Markle was released under personal guarantee. He is ordered to comply with the conditions of house arrest using an electronic monitoring system. In addition, he is strictly prohibited from leaving the Middle District of Florida and the Central District of California, where he was charged.

On Friday, November 6, he appeared in Tampa court, as noted in the publication, in a wheelchair.

Law enforcement found material showing signs of child pornography in two warehouses in the Los Angeles area that Markle had rented since 2008. During the search, FBI agents seized 78 items, including slides, negatives and books. If found guilty, he faces a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Meghan said in a statement to CBS News that she had known about the allegations since 2018, and stressed that her distance from her father was dictated solely by the desire to protect their children.

Federal agents detained Thomas Markle Sr. the day before. The reason for the investigation was the statement of his son – Thomas Markle Jr. (brother Meghan Markle). He settled in 2025 next door to his father to care for him after a stroke and found "hundreds if not thousands" of images of child pornography in boxes owned by his father. He then went to the police.