Thomas Markle, the estranged 82-year-old father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was sent back to jail in Florida on Tuesday after removing his court-ordered electronic ankle monitor. The move violated the conditions of his pre-trial release, just days after he was arrested and charged with possessing child sexual abuse material.A US magistrate judge ordered him to remain in federal custody without bond.Thomas Markle was arrested on Friday in Lakeland, Florida, and appeared before a federal court in Tampa after authorities discovered that he had cut off his ankle monitor at around 1.45 am on Monday. First assistant US attorney Bill Essayli said the authorities had sought to revoke his release following the violation.“Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” Essayli said.US magistrate judge Lindsay Griffin agreed that Markle should be taken back into custody. In her written order, she noted that his “housing situation” had become “untenable”, but did not elaborate further.Markle had been staying at a senior care facility in Lakeland. His defence attorney, Mary Claire Wolf, had sought to keep him out of custody but had not been able to find a suitable alternative place for him to stay, according to a hearing summary.Essayli told The Associated Press that he did not know why Markle had removed the monitoring device. It was also unclear where the incident took place. Wolf did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Charges against Thomas Markle
Thomas Markle was arrested on Friday and charged with a single federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material. The charges followed the seizure of around 78 items from two storage units in the Los Angeles area that he had rented since 2008.The seized material included photographic slides, film negatives and books containing suspected images of child sexual abuse, Essayli said.According to an FBI affidavit filed in court, the material included two explicit photographs of Markle posing with a naked underage girl, along with other images showing children in various stages of undress.One of the photographs reportedly showed a naked girl in a room that appeared to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines, where Markle had previously lived. Authorities began investigating him there last month.FBI director Kash Patel had commented on the case following Markle’s arrest, saying he had “targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions.”Thomas Markle had previously denied possessing sexually explicit photographs of children. In comments to the Daily Mail, he described the allegations as untrue and “sick lies.”
Meghan distanced herself from father to protect her children
The case has also brought renewed attention to the estrangement between Markle and his daughter, Meghan, who married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. The couple have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.Meghan recently said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father’s former home in the Philippines.She also disclosed that a letter containing “troubling allegations” about him had been sent to police in London in 2019. Meghan said she had been assured that the allegations were being investigated.“It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” Meghan said of the letter.“I hope 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.”
Thomas Markle’s health and legal proceedings
Thomas Markle had been living in the Philippines before suffering a stroke earlier this year. He also had to undergo an amputation of his left leg, forcing him to return to the United States.A mental competency examination is still pending in his case. He will remain in federal custody as the proceedings continue, with authorities yet to specify where he will be held ahead of a likely transfer to California.No plea was entered during his initial court appearance on Friday. He had initially been allowed to leave custody under home detention and electronic monitoring before the alleged violation led to his return to jail.