The FBI arrested Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, on Friday, November 6, on a federal complaint charging one count of possession of child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced the arrest.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

The department said Markle is accused of keeping child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

Markle was taken into custody on Friday morning in Lakeland. News reports said he was arrested at a senior living facility in North Lakeland, Florida.

Source: TheWrap / MyNewsLA

He was expected to make his initial appearance on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. The federal complaint was filed on Thursday, November 5, in the Central District of California, and the complaint gives the alleged offence date as October 30, 2026.

How the case reached investigators

According to an FBI affidavit filed with the complaint, law enforcement learned in October 2026 that a person had signed a sworn statement about finding suspected child sexual abuse material among Markle's possessions in the Philippines.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

A second witness told investigators about a storage unit in Los Angeles. Judge Daniel S. Roberts signed a warrant for the first unit on October 30, and Judge Rozella A. Oliver signed a warrant for the second unit on November 4. Agents seized about 27 items from the first unit and about 51 from the second — around 78 in total, including slides, film negatives and books.

Source: FBI affidavit, as reported

Both units had been rented since 2008 — one since about July 2008 and the other since about June 2008 — with the most recent payments made last month by auto-pay. The affidavit says agents digitised the negatives on November 2 and found Kodak edge markings on the film stock.

What prosecutors and the FBI said

“Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.”

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

“The FBI and our partners have arrested Thomas Markle Sr. after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM),” said FBI Director Kash Patel.

If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Weiner, Kevin J. Butler and Kathy Yu are prosecuting the case, and the FBI investigation remains open.

Markle is the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, from whom he is estranged. News reports noted that he had previously denied allegations concerning such material, and he had not entered a plea as of Friday.