Thomas Markle Sr. detained after alleged removal of ankle monitor
An 82-year-old Thomas Markle Sr., father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was ordered into detention following an alleged violation of his pre-trial release conditions.
Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was ordered to be detained pending trial after a court found he violated his release conditions by allegedly cutting off his ankle monitor while on home confinement. Magistrate Judge Lindsey Griffin ruled that, given the lack of suitable housing, no set of conditions could reasonably assure public safety or the defendant’s appearance in court.
Markle, 82, had been placed under home detention and electronic monitoring after his November 6 arrest in Florida on a charge of possession of child sexual abuse material. The first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said the alleged removal of the monitoring device occurred overnight on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Markle is accused of storing suspected child sexual abuse material in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades. The judge also ordered an independent psychiatric evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial, with a report due by November 20.
If convicted, Markle faces a maximum federal sentence of 20 years. A lawyer for Markle did not respond to requests for comment.
The Philippine Department of Justice confirmed that an anti-trafficking task force in Cebu is investigating a separate allegation involving Markle. He previously lived in the Philippines before moving to Florida. Meghan has not publicly commented on the case.