Thomas Markle Removed Ankle Monitor Days After Federal Arrest
The 82-year-old father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was detained in Tampa, Florida, after cutting off his electronic monitoring device.
By Jack Weber ·
Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, removed an electronic monitoring device from his ankle before federal authorities took him into custody in Tampa, Florida.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated that Markle cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. He was arrested shortly after the device was removed. At the time of his detention, Markle was in custody awaiting a hearing in federal court.
The arrest on Friday followed the discovery of approximately 78 items containing suspected child sexual abuse images. These items included slides, film negatives, and books stored in two units in the Los Angeles area. Essayli confirmed that the storage units had been rented by Markle since 2008.
Markle was initially taken from a senior care center in Lakeland, Florida, by ambulance during his original arrest last week. A judge subsequently allowed his release on the condition that he wear an ankle tether. The court also ordered a mental competency exam and requested a report by Nov. 20.
Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry in 2018, recently described herself as deeply distressed by the allegations. She noted that a letter containing troubling allegations about her father was sent to London police in 2019. Meghan said the distance from her father was a choice made to protect their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Markle lived in the Philippines this year when he suffered a stroke and required the amputation of his left leg. That medical event forced him to return to the United States. Reports from The Sun indicated that Meghan’s half-brother found the collection of images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines, which led investigators to the California storage units.
