- US Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin has ordered that Thomas Markle be remanded in custody and kept separate from the general prison population where practicable, after he breached his bail conditions by removing his electronic monitoring bracelet following his arrest for allegedly possessing child sex abuse material.
- The 82-year-old father of the Duchess of Sussex was initially granted conditional bail with home detention and a mandatory psychiatric evaluation, but prosecutors successfully petitioned for his return to jail, citing his non-compliance and the lack of suitable housing.
- Markle was arrested after FBI agents raided two Los Angeles storage units he had rented for nearly two decades, seizing suspected child sex abuse material including photographs allegedly depicting a younger Markle with nude young girls, an offence carrying a potential 20-year federal prison sentence.
- The investigation was triggered when his son, Thomas Markle Jr, reported illegal images found in his father's belongings to authorities in the Philippines and the FBI, a development that has also prompted an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the Metropolitan Police's handling of a 2019 report concerning Markle.
- The Duchess of Sussex, who has been estranged from her father since 2018, described feeling deeply distressed by the allegations, while the Duke of Sussex emphasised the vital importance of protecting children during a recent address to the European Parliament.
IN FULL
Thomas Markle should be detained separately after cutting off electronic tag, judge rules
