The Thomas Markle Philippines probe over alleged child abuse images prompted a statement from his daughter Meghan on Friday, 23 October 2026, in which she said she was “deeply distressed”.
According to Hello!, Thomas Markle Jr. reported his father, Thomas Markle Sr., to authorities after allegedly finding child sex abuse images at the family’s home in the Philippines, and submitted a sworn statement in Cebu. Markle Sr. has denied the allegation and has not been charged. Markle Jr. said:
When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad.
What is the Thomas Markle Philippines probe about?
Markle Jr. says he found “hundreds, if not thousands” of abuse images and videos at the Cebu City home. The Philippines’ Department of Justice has said it is investigating reports involving an American national who left child abuse videos and photos at a home in Cebu province, and an anti-trafficking task force is handling the matter.
A Filipino justice official confirmed that Markle Sr. is the subject of the investigation. Court papers were filed in Cebu City on Thursday, 22 October 2026, and investigators from the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking have appointed a task force run by the Women and Children’s Protection Centre.
No charges have been announced against Markle Sr. Under the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, possessing child sexual abuse material is a criminal offence in the Philippines, and the law covers both images and recordings of children.
What has Thomas Markle said about the Philippines probe?
Markle Sr., who is 82 and is in a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Florida after returning to the United States earlier in 2026 for health reasons, denied possessing the material in an interview and called the accusations “sick lies”. He also said:
I have never downloaded anything like that in my life.
Samantha Markle, a daughter of Markle Sr. from his first marriage, has rejected her brother’s account and accused him of fabricating the claims, and has said her father had not had access to the computers in question for about two years. She also said:
There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever.
What did Meghan say about the Thomas Markle Philippines probe?
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, who is estranged from her father, issued a statement on Friday, 23 October 2026, after the allegations and the Philippines investigation into her father became public. She opened the statement by writing:
I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours.
She said a 2018 letter to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, later shared with her, contained “troubling and disturbing allegations against my father”. She said her distance from him, and her decision not to let him contact her children, “was for one reason: to protect them”. She added:
I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.
Markle Sr. suffered a stroke in 2022, and Markle Jr. moved to Rosarito, Mexico, that year to be near him. The two relocated to the Philippines in early 2025. Meghan said she hopes “justice will be fully served”.
Sources
- Hello!, Meghan Markle's estranged father under investigation after discovery of child sex abuse images
- Yahoo Entertainment, Meghan "deeply distressed" as dad faces child abuse material probe
- Now To Love, Meghan Markle reacts to Thomas Markle Snr allegations
- IBTimes UK, Meghan Markle's Father Investigated For Alleged Stash of Child Abuse Material
- Swisher Post, Meghan Markle
- Statement by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
- Comments by Thomas Markle Jr., Thomas Markle Sr. and Samantha Markle
