But the 82-year-old has denied the allegations even as Philippine authorities examine digital evidence linked to the case. Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Sr, is being investigated in the Philippines after his son allegedly found suspected child sexual abuse material among his belongings.
Meghan Markle’s reaction and the police letter
Meghan first said she learned about the claims in 2018, according to the Daily Mail. The Met Police later said it passed the information on in 2019.
In a statement to People on October 23, Meghan, 45, said she was “deeply distressed” by the claims. She said her thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed. A spokesperson then said she “may have been mistaken by a few months.”
“Right now all signs point to a possible sex offender of the grossest kind. We want to be sure before we release the findings. The forensics data will be complete in a week. “Please give us a week to determine the contents and to come up with a definitive picture. We will release a statement then,” Remulla added.
“In these cases where family disputes are mixed up, we have to consider all the angles,” he told the outlet.
What is the case about?
The Daily Mail also reported that he admitted travelling to the Philippines at least twice when he was single and that he “slept with prostitutes. The 82-year-old is being probed after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, allegedly found child sex abuse material at his home in Cebu and reported, according to The Sun. Remulla said on Saturday, October 24, that the Philippine National Police (PNP) took a laptop allegedly belonging to Thomas Sr from his former home, according to Global News. In a two-hour interview with The Mail on Sunday, he said, “I have never had sex with anyone under the age of 18.
Thomas Markle Sr is the estranged father of Meghan Markle. Thomas Sr, who is in a rehab center in Florida, denied the claims to the Daily Mail. “This is bulls–t. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. He believes his son Tom Jr may be behind the letter that made the claims. One photograph reportedly shows a bearded man who looks like Markle with a young girl.
Thomas Jr said he found four large boxes with “hundreds, if not thousands” of such images when he went looking for a phone in storage boxes. He told The Sun he was “horrified” and had “no option but to report my dad. As per The Guardian, Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla said local authorities are checking digital images allegedly linked to Thomas Sr. “The laptop is currently going under forensic investigation and we will have the full results in one week,” Remulla told Global News. The PNP told Daily Tribune it is investigating the “reported discovery of suspected child sexual abuse and exploitation materials and other personal belongings allegedly linked to Mr Thomas W Markle Sr” The spokesperson added, “The PNP will first secure the appropriate warrant before any examination of the data from the digital devices can be conducted. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies,” he said. As per the Daily Mail, he said he would speak to investigators and take a lie detector test to show he is innocent. He also said that any child abuse images found on his computer were “planted” to ruin his name. He added that the books described as “pornographic” are only about Hollywood history and photography. He said he has not had his computer or phones for nearly two years. “If there is anything bad on there it was put there by someone else,” he said. “I like Asian women but that is not a crime,” he said. “I have never been in a photograph like that,” he said. His daughter Samantha, his main caregiver, said she believes it is a set-up, according to the Daily Mail. “Tom Jr had possession of those boxes with dad’s computers and phones,” she said. She added that if such a photo exists, “it may be one of his girlfriends.”
