Thomas Markle faces US child abuse material charge after Florida arrest

US federal agents arrested Thomas Markle in Florida on Friday on a charge of possessing child sexual abuse material, the Justice Department said.

Markle, 82, is the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The department said agents took him into custody at a care home near Tampa.

A federal criminal complaint filed in California contains one count. Prosecutors allege he kept the material in two storage units in the Los Angeles area.

Court papers say the FBI removed about 78 items from the units. Agents were still checking the seized material, The Guardian reported.

The Justice Department said Markle had rented both units since 2008. It said the most recent payments had been made last month by automatic payment.

Markle is due to make his first court appearance in Tampa, at the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The arrest follows an inquiry in the Philippines. Officials there said they were looking into claims that he had kept child abuse images at his home.

Markle has denied the allegations made against him in the Philippines. The US charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt.

The Metropolitan Police said it had not passed claims in a letter to other police agencies at the time. It referred itself to the police watchdog. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is examining its handling of the allegations.

Meghan said she was deeply upset by the claims against her father.