Meghan Markle's father granted bail, but could face up to 20 years in prison

A U.S. federal judge granted Thomas Markle Sr., father of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, bail after he was arrested this Friday on a charge of possession of child pornography.

Federal Judge Thomas Wilson, of the Middle District of Florida, ordered his release and placed him under house arrest, according to CNN.

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According to the aforementioned source, Markle Sr. will not be able to travel outside the Middle District of Florida or the Central District of California, where he is expected to appear soon.

The 82-year-old defendant was arrested by FBI agents this Friday in the town of Lakeland, Florida, where he was living in a clinic specializing in dementia care.

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Markle Sr. is accused of possession of child sexual abuse material, "including photographs in which he appears with underage girls," reported First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement.

The FBI revealed it found approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books containing allegedly sexually explicit material in two Los Angeles-area storage units that the defendant had rented for nearly two decades.

This discovery came as a result of an investigation opened in the Philippines, where Markle Sr. lived until mid-2026 before moving to Lakeland.

In the Philippines, authorities had seized nearly 7,500 photographs and a video, all of minors—boys and girls—of Asian, Latino, and European descent, aged between 10 and 11, at Markle Sr.'s residence in Cebu City, following a complaint by one of the arrested man's children, Thomas Markle Jr.

If convicted, Markle Sr. would face a maximum legal sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Meghan Markle stated on October 23 in a letter sent to the British outlet 'The Sun' that she had known about these accusations against her father since 2018, after British police informed her of them, and that was why she cut off the relationship and prevented him from having contact with her children.