Meghan Markle's Father Thomas Markle Jailed After Allegedly Cutting Off Ankle Monitor Days After His Arrest

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge has ordered Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to be held in jail. Prosecutors say he cut off his electronic ankle monitor days after he was arrested on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin ordered the 82-year-old into custody Tuesday after a hearing in federal court in Tampa. In a written order, Griffin described Markle's "housing situation" as "untenable" but did not elaborate.

Prosecutors said Markle removed the monitoring device at 1:45 a.m. He had been living in a senior care center in Lakeland, Florida, under home detention, a condition of his release after his arrest last week.

"Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. Essayli told The Associated Press he did not know why Markle had removed the monitor.

Markle's defense attorney, Mary Claire Wolf, had sought to keep him out of custody. According to a summary of the hearing, she had not found a suitable place for him to live. Wolf did not respond to requests for comment.

Authorities have not said where Markle will be held, though a transfer to California, where the case was filed, is considered likely. A mental competency examination is pending.

Federal agents arrested Markle on Friday at a senior living facility in Lakeland. He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

According to federal prosecutors, agents searched two storage units in the Los Angeles area that Markle had rented since 2008. They seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books, containing suspected child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors allege that some photographs show Markle himself with minor girls.

"These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law," Essayli said after the arrest.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Markle "allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions."

Markle has denied possessing the material, according to The Guardian. The allegations have not been tested in court.

According to an affidavit, the FBI investigation began in October after authorities learned that someone had signed a statement describing suspected abuse material found among Markle's belongings in the Philippines. The arrest followed reports in The Sun, a British tabloid, that Meghan's half brother, Thomas Markle Jr., had found the images while clearing out their father's former home in Cebu City.

Markle had been living in the Philippines until earlier this year, when he had a stroke and had his left leg amputated, forcing his return to the United States.

Meghan said before the arrest that she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations. She said a letter containing "troubling and disturbing allegations against my father" had been sent to London police in 2019 and that she was told it was being investigated. She said her distance from her father and her decision to keep him away from her children were meant "to protect them."

Markle, a retired Hollywood lighting director, raised Meghan for much of her childhood. Their relationship broke down publicly before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, which he missed after heart surgery and a scandal over staged paparazzi photos. The couple live in California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.