Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been charged with possession of child abuse material.
Markle, 82, allegedly kept the collection — including sexually explicit photographs of himself with young girls — in two Los Angeles storage units that he had rented for 18 years.
He was taken into custody in Florida, where he is due to appear in court on Friday, US time.
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He has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
If convicted, Markle faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr Markle to the fullest extent of federal law,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said.
FBI raids
FBI agents acting on warrants searched two storage units registered to Markle since 2008.
Inside, authorities allege they seized dozens of “slides, film negatives, and books” containing child abuse material.
Markle was allegedly identified in two images with a nude girl, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint.
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Another picture, according to the affidavit, shows a naked girl in what appears to be a Philippines motel room.
It also described additional photographs that “appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress”.
“Mr Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions,” FBI director Kash Patel said.
“Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr Markle in Florida.”
Meghan Markle and estranged father Thomas Markle. Credit: Getty, 7NEWS Spotlight
Markle previously admitted to paying for sex but denied allegations he had a hoard of child sex abuse images.
He called the claims “sick lies”.
It came after his son, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr, alleged he found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.
It is understood Meghan has not spoken to her father in eight years.
The Duchess of Sussex responded to the claims in October by saying she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations and “my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed”.
The Duchess has not commented on her father’s arrest.
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