Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Snr, has been charged by the FBI over child sexual abuse material.

The 82-year-old was reportedly arrested at his senior care home in Lakeland, Florida, after indecent materials were discovered at locations connected to Markle Snr in the Philippines and Mexico over the past few weeks.

He previously denied the allegations, describing them as “sick lies”.

The US Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “A Florida man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.

“Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.”

Markle Snr was reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI last month by his son, Thomas Markle Jnr, after he allegedly found illegal images in his father’s belongings in Cebu City.

A second hoard was reportedly discovered last week in a storage unit Markle Snr is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by police.

Markle Snr, who was living in a dementia care home in the US, has admitted to paying for sex in the Philippines but has denied ever possessing child abuse imagery.

Meghan, who moved back to the UK with Harry in August, said she was “deeply distressed” at the allegations about her father, from whom she has been estranged since 2018.

She revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection in 2019 which made “troubling and disturbing allegations” about her father, but that she was given assurances these were being investigated.

The Met has admitted it never shared the details with other law enforcement agencies, with the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), now investigating the force’s conduct.

Meghan had wanted to “speak out” immediately after reading the letter but police advised her against this, sources said.

Earlier this week, it was also revealed that the child abuse police probe into Markle Snr had been widened to include Meghan’s half-brother. 

The Philippines’ interior and local government secretary Jonvic Remulla told a press conference in Manila this week that Markle Jnr was now a “person of interest” in the case but is not being treated as a suspect.

Remulla said there are “signs that the son is involved in the crime as well”, after a witness came forward to say underaged girls had been brought to Markle Jnr’s house.

However, Markle Jnr said he was making TikTok videos with the girls.

This is a breaking news story and is being updated.