Philippine police apologize to Thomas Markle Jr. after being named person of interest
Philippine authorities said they had mistakenly named Thomas Markle Jr. as a person of interest in a child-abuse investigation and issued an apology, while the U.S. investigation into his father continues.
Philippine interior secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said the investigation into Thomas Markle Sr.'s alleged possession of child-abuse images was briefly expanded to include his son, Thomas Markle Jr., after police received tips that underage girls had been taken to the younger Markle's home in Cordova. Remulla told a Manila press conference, "We had witnesses who testified that underage girls were being brought to his house, with ring lights, through the windows."
Police later interviewed Markle Jr.'s fiancée, Rose Ann Gabuya, and other contacts, after which a source close to the case told The Sun that the matter had been resolved and officers were "very apologetic."
Markle Jr. had reported his father to Philippine authorities and the FBI in May after discovering illegal images among his father's belongings in Cebu City. The FBI subsequently arrested Thomas Markle Sr. in Florida and charged him with possession of child-abuse material, seizing about 78 items from two Los Angeles storage units.
"Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls. These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law," said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney.
"Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions. Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida. This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids – any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide," said Kash Patel, FBI director.
The Duchess of Sussex, who has been estranged from her father since 2018, said she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations. She previously received a letter in 2019 from the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection raising concerns about her father, which the Met later admitted had not been shared with other law-enforcement agencies. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is reviewing the Met's handling of the matter.