Thomas Markle ordered held in custody after cutting ankle monitor
Thomas Markle, the 82-year-old father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was ordered held in custody in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, after he cut off his electronic ankle monitor.
The order came four days after he was charged with possession of child sexual abuse material. Markle was not granted bail.
Cut monitor and the prosecutor’s warning
Federal prosecutor Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said Markle cut the device at 1:45 a.m. and was detained shortly afterward. Essayli did not say why the device was removed, and it was not clear where the cut happened.
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“Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” Essayli said.
Arrest in Lakeland and 78 seized items
Markle was arrested on Friday in Lakeland, Florida. Investigators had seized about 78 items from storage units in the Los Angeles area, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse images. The items were found in two units Markle had rented since 2008.
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Before the new arrest, a judge had released Markle to home confinement under electronic monitoring. The release conditions barred him from contact with minors and from using devices with internet access.
Judge’s order and the defense’s position
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin agreed that Markle must now be kept in custody. In her written order, she said his housing situation had become “untenable,” but did not explain further.
Defense attorney Mary Claire Wolf had asked to keep Markle out of custody, but has not found a suitable place for him to stay, according to a summary of the hearing. Wolf did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Charges, sentence and the case in the Philippines
- Friday, Nov. 6: Markle arrested in Lakeland, Florida, and charged with possession of child sexual abuse material
- Nov. 6 to Nov. 10: Markle on home confinement with electronic monitoring
- 1:45 a.m., Nov. 10: time Essayli said the ankle device was cut
- Nov. 10: hearing in Tampa, where the judge ordered custody
- 20 years: maximum federal prison sentence for a conviction in this type of case
If convicted, Markle faces a maximum federal prison sentence of 20 years. The case began after a British tabloid reported that Meghan’s half brother had found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines. That discovery led investigators to the two storage units in California.
Markle had a stroke earlier in 2026 while living in the Philippines, and his left leg was amputated. That forced him to return to the United States. Meghan has said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations, and she revealed that a letter containing troubling allegations about him had been sent to police in London in 2019.
Mental competency exam and transfer to California
A mental competency exam for Markle is still pending, along with the charges against him. Authorities have not said where he will be held while the case remains in court, ahead of a likely transfer to California.
