The Duchess of Sussex’s father denies the claims and no charge has been brought, while a UK watchdog investigates how the Metropolitan Police handled an earlier warning
Mexican officers have reportedly raided a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s father, near his former home in Rosarito, as investigations into allegations of child sexual abuse images spread across several countries. Heavily armed Guardia Nacional officers seized a computer and boxes of items on Saturday afternoon, according to reports. Mr Markle, 82, denies the allegations, which were first raised by his son in the Philippines. No charges have been brought anywhere, and no court has found that he committed any offence.
The reported raid
The Sunday Express reported that officers cordoned off the 5ft by 10ft unit, about three miles from Mr Markle’s former home, and took a computer, thumb drives, magazines, photographs and books. A document appearing to be a search warrant was posted outside, and officials from Baja California’s state headquarters reportedly oversaw the operation. LBC, citing the Daily Mail, reported that the warrant was for child sexual abuse material.
Mexican authorities have not published the warrant or confirmed the search, and there are no public findings about the contents or ownership of anything seized. Hours earlier, a spokesperson for Tijuana’s municipal police told the Express the force was “ready to co-operate with United States law enforcement and will closely examine all evidence available to us”.
Mr Markle lived in Rosarito for 14 years until 2025, then moved to Cebu City in the Philippines. He is now recovering from a leg amputation at a medical centre in Lakeland, Florida, and has been fitted with a prosthetic leg.
The Philippines inquiry
The allegations began about 11 days ago, when Thomas Markle Jr reported his father to police in Cebu. He said he had found “hundreds if not thousands” of images in four storage boxes at his father’s home. Many were allegedly on a laptop that, with other evidence, is being examined by police.
Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla said: “In these cases, where family disputes are mixed up, we have to consider all the angles.” He said forensic data should be complete within a week. Handwriting experts are examining labels on some of the material.
Cebu Regional Prosecutor Graeme Elmido told BusinessMirror that some devices have been sent to Manila because the regional anti-cybercrime unit lacked the right equipment. A court-issued warrant allows the data to be inspected, though it does not show the material belongs to Mr Markle. Mr Elmido said a case of this kind could ideally be completed in about 90 days, which is not a deadline for charges, and that a suspect being abroad would not necessarily stop proceedings.
Samantha Markle, his daughter, has questioned whether the devices could have been tampered with, Page Six reported. That is a family member’s claim, and no forensic finding of tampering has been released.
The FBI said it is “aware of the allegations and will provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities”, adding that it will also investigate “any related allegations of federal violations of US law”.
Mr Markle has called the allegations “sick lies” and said he will do “whatever it takes to clear my name”.
Meghan’s statement and the Met
Nine days ago the Duchess of Sussex said she was “deeply distressed” by the claims and that her thoughts were “with any children who may have been harmed”. She said the Metropolitan Police gave her a letter written by Mr Markle’s late first wife, Roslyn Loveless, before the birth of her son, making “serious and troubling” accusations. She said that was why her father had never been allowed to see Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) opened an investigation on Friday into why the Met did not alert overseas forces after receiving the warning in January 2019, The Guardian and Sky News reported. Commander Adam Slonecki confirmed that the letter went to the Met’s Protection Command. A separate concern about the possible passing of sensitive information to a third party has been returned to the Met to consider internally.
The Times and The Independent reported that Scotland Yard could not find its own copy and asked Meghan for hers. The Guardian reported that the Met has begun sharing the information with authorities in the United States, the Philippines and Thailand. That does not mean Thailand has opened an investigation.
