Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was ordered back into federal custody on Tuesday after prosecutors said he cut off the electronic ankle monitor he was required to wear as a condition of home confinement.
A 1:45am violation
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Markle, 82, was found to have cut the monitoring device off at about 1:45am on Monday. Prosecutors asked the judge to revoke his home release and keep him locked up pending trial. “Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” Essayli wrote.
US Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin found that Markle had violated the terms of his pretrial release and ordered him returned to federal custody without bond at a hearing in Tampa, Florida, court records showed. He was booked into Florida’s Pinellas County Jail at 6:11pm on November 10, and his booking photo was released afterwards.
The underlying charge
Markle was arrested on Friday, November 6, and charged with a single federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material. Federal prosecutors allege the material, including two explicit photographs of himself posed with a naked underage girl and other images of him with children in various stages of undress, was found in two storage units he rented in the Los Angeles area. The FBI seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books.
Markle has denied the allegations, calling them “sick lies”. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison if he is convicted. No conviction has been reported, and the detention order concerns pretrial release, not a finding of guilt.
Housing described as untenable
Judge Griffin also described Markle’s housing situation as “untenable”. He had been released into the care of his daughter Samantha Markle after his assisted living facility declined to take him back. The judge said she would reconsider his release if he is able to locate accommodation suitable for house arrest.
The judge also ordered a court-ordered psychiatric assessment of his competency to stand trial, with a report due by November 20. Prosecutors said Markle is expected to be transferred to California, where the federal case was filed.
