Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle Sr., was arrested Friday on a federal child pornography charge following a raid of storage units that allegedly belong to him in California.

Markle Sr., 82, was arrested in Florida and is charged in the Central District of California with possession of child pornography. According to a criminal complaint against him, federal authorities found explicit photos of Markle Sr. and minors in the storage units.

Authorities interviewed a witness who has known Markle Sr. since the 1970s and identified him as the man in at least two photos with a minor, according to the criminal complaint. The FBI compared those images to others found in a storage unit and said they appeared to depict him "along with children in various stages of undress."

"These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law. "First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said in a news release.

The California charge comes amid an investigation by authorities in the Philippines, after Markle Sr.'s son, Thomas Markle Jr., reportedly contacted the FBI after finding child pornography images inside four large boxes at the Cebu, Philippines, home of his father.

According to the California criminal complaint, authorities identified the location of some of the photos in the storage unit as being in the Philippines.

Philippine authorities previously told reporters that the FBI and U.S. authorities were conducting their own investigation into Markle Sr.

Markle Sr. previously denied the accusations, telling the Daily Mail that he was "shocked" and "hurt" by his son's claims and that he "could never do" what he's being accused of.

"It's the worst thing anyone could accuse me of. ... I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies."

Philippine authorities on Thursday named Markle Jr. as a person of interest in their investigation into more than 7,000 images and a video — all of underage girls and boys — recovered from digital devices allegedly belonging to Markle Sr.

At a press conference in Manila, the country's Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla described the images as "deplorable" and "deeply, deeply disturbing."

Markle Sr. reportedly left the Philippines earlier this year for ongoing medical care in the U.S. following an emergency leg amputation. He was asked to leave a rehab center in Florida following news of the probe in the Philippines and moved to a nursing home, according to a report published by The Sun.

In a previous statement to the Times, Meghan said she was "deeply distressed" by the news. The Duchess of Sussex said she first learned of "troubling and disturbing allegations" against her father in 2018, after a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection and later shared with her.

"Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children," she said.

Meghan's relationship with her father has been the focus of intense media scrutiny since 2018, when she and Prince Harry tied the knot. Thomas Markle Sr. did not attend the wedding.

"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."

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.