Thomas Markle, 82, has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography, and he made his initial court appearance in Tampa, Florida, on Friday. Following his arrest, a U.S. judge ordered a psychiatric examination for Markle, the estranged father of Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry.
Judge Lindsay Griffin cited Markle’s advanced age, health condition, and issues with memory recall as factors influencing her decision. Specific reasons for the order were not disclosed. Markle was reportedly arrested at his retirement home in Lakeland, Florida, by FBI agents earlier that day.
The Justice Department claims that Markle allegedly stored child sexual abuse material (CSAM) across two rented storage units in the Los Angeles area for nearly two decades, which included explicit images of himself with prepubescent girls. Additional materials were reportedly found at his previous residence in the Philippines and at a storage unit in Mexico.
In her ruling, Judge Griffin noted that there was reasonable cause to believe that Markle suffers from a condition that may impair his understanding of the legal proceedings against him. She instructed that a psychiatric report on his mental state be submitted by November 20.
Markle is currently permitted to live under house arrest with electronic monitoring. He had been residing in Cebu, Philippines, until his recent return to the U.S.
Meghan Markle expressed her distress over the accusations against her father, stating that she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations concerning his possession of child sexual abuse images. If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
