Taylor Swift named Knicks' ‘fakest' celebrity fan by Tyler Kolek, Deuce McBride in viral clip

WARNING: This article contains descriptive or legal details regarding child sexual abuse that may be disturbing to readers.

The estranged father of Meghan Markle was arrested Friday morning by federal agents in Florida on charges related to child sexual abuse material.

Thomas Markle Sr. was arrested in Lakeland and is charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

The federal complaint alleges the 82-year-old kept child sexual abuse material, including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

Federal agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sex abuse material. The affidavit describes disturbing images that federal agents appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress, including one with “a nude prepubescent girl.”

A spokesperson for Meghan and Prince Harry said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not commenting at this time.

The arrest comes nearly two weeks after The Sun newspaper, a British tabloid, reported that Thomas Markle was being investigated over claims he kept child sexual abuse videos and images at his home in the Philippines.

The report said Markle Sr.’s son had informed police after he said he found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in boxes at his father’s home. The Sun published a photo it said showed his son, Thomas Markle Jr., signing a sworn statement it said he had submitted to police and quoted him as saying: “I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”

The 82-year-old denied the reported allegations, calling them “sick lies” in a statement to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. He added they were “the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”

Meghan said at the time she was “deeply distressed” by the report and revealed that at she was informed by police of “disturbing allegations” against him in 2018.

“The breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine,” said Meghan, who has in recent years had a limited and fraught relationship with her father. He did not attend her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, drawing widespread media scrutiny.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at https://www.rainn.org/get-help.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates