Thomas Markle Jailed for Allegedly Cutting Off Ankle Monitor

Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions, Bill Essayli, the US attorney for Central California, wrote on X on Tuesday as Thomas Markle Sr. was ordered back to federal detention without bond.

Meghan Markle’s estranged father, 82, was jailed in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday after federal authorities said he cut off his electronic location-monitoring ankle bracelet at 1:45 a.m. local time, according to reports by the BBC.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said in a court document: Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr. Markle to remain out of custody pending trial. He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device. He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night.

Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr. Markle to remain out of custody pending trial. He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device. He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night. Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court… https://t.co/rjNknXuSA9

— Post by @USAttyEssayli on X

He added: We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law. Essayli previously stated that the allegations are extremely serious.

Arrest and Jailing in Florida

Markle’s return to federal custody follows his initial arrest on November 6 by the FBI at a care home in Lakeland, Florida. Prosecutors charged him with one count of possessing child sexual abuse material after investigators searched two storage units in Los Angeles rented since 2008, where they discovered approximately 78 items including film negatives, slides, and books, Reuters reported. Markle’s arrest came after a report by The Sun that his half-brother found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines.

The discovery led to information about the two US storage units in California, which Markle had rented since 2008. He appeared at the federal courthouse in Tampa on November 6.

Markle, who is wheelchair-bound following the amputation of his leg in the Philippines last year, arrived at court in a wheelchair and did not enter a plea. He was photographed being escorted from the care home in handcuffs and loaded into an ambulance by federal agents. When asked by a reporter whether he was a pedophile, Markle responded in a weak voice: “No.”

During an initial court appearance last week, a federal magistrate judge permitted Markle to be released on bond under home detention and GPS monitoring. Following his release, the assisted living facility refused to let him return, leading to his placement in the custody of his other daughter, Samantha, in Lakeland, Daily Mail reported.

The senior-living facility where Markle had recently been residing specialized in dementia care and cost an estimated $3,900 per month. In October, The Sun reported that Markle moved into Maravida Senior Living, a facility specializing in memory care.

Following his ejection from the home, Mark Phillips, the partner of Markle’s eldest daughter Samantha, was seen collecting his belongings, including crutches, two black bin liners of clothing, a television and a walker. A spokesman for the US Marshals Service, responsible for monitoring Markle’s whereabouts via his GPS ankle monitor, said: The adult living facility would not take him back.

Judge Orders Medical Evaluation After Ruling Housing Situation Untenable

On Tuesday, US Judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin ruled that Markle’s housing situation had become untenable, citing a lack of suitable housing and determining that no set of release conditions could reasonably ensure community safety or his appearance in court, AP reported. The judge ordered a medical and psychiatric evaluation, specifying that Markle must receive all necessary and prescribed medication unless a physician discontinues it.

Griffin also expressed reasonable cause to believe Markle suffered from some mental deficiency, citing his advanced age and a “lack of recall” demonstrated during his court appearance. She ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine mental competency, with the report due by November 20.

A joint statement from the Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California noted that Markle is barred from traveling outside Florida’s Middle District and California’s Central District.

FBI Director Kash Patel stated last week that Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions, according to The Sun. Markle has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them sick lies.

The federal complaint alleges that among the seized material were two explicit photographs depicting Markle posed with a naked underage girl, alongside other images showing him with children in various stages of undress.

Witnesses positively identified Markle in two of the images; in those photographs, the man pictured appears to be in his 30s or 40s, suggesting the alleged abuse occurred decades ago given Markle’s current age of 82. Both storage units had been rented by Markle since 2008. It is not known what is on the hard drives or video tapes among the seized items.

If convicted, Markle faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The investigation extends to the Philippines, where Markle moved last year after suffering a series of strokes and lived in Cebu until May. Markle was under investigation in the Philippines over allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse material. His son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60, told Philippine police that he discovered images of child sexual abuse material among boxes at his father’s former home in Cebu after his father left the country.

Philippine authorities plan to file their own charges against Markle as early as Monday, and Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla revealed that some of the children depicted were as young as ten. Markle Sr. denied those allegations, telling the Daily Mail in October.

Meghan Markle, who has been estranged from her father since 2018 and reportedly broke contact with him last year after telling him she and the authorities knew he had abused young girls, confirmed receiving a 2019 letter sent to London’s Metropolitan Police containing troubling allegations. She stated: It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated. Meghan reportedly told her father the letter would be the last time he heard from her.

In a previous statement, she wrote: I am deeply distressed… my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed, adding that she hoped it could be understood why she had cut off contact and did not allow him access to her children.

On Tuesday, the Duchess made her first public appearance since the charges, joining Prince Harry in Brussels for European Parliament addresses but declining to speak on online child safety.