Philippine Police Confirm Investigation Into Thomas Markle Sr. Is 'Going in the Right Direction'

Philippine police said on Tuesday, 3 November, that an initial examination in the Thomas Markle Sr. investigation had uncovered suspected child sexual abuse material on devices surrendered in Cebu City.

The 82-year-old father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, denies the allegations, and no criminal complaint had been filed against him at the time.

The inquiry followed claims by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., who said he discovered disturbing material among belongings he attributed to his father.

Investigators have since begun examining the devices, but they have not established who owned them, who accessed the files or whether Markle Sr. appears in any recordings.

Thomas Markle Sr. Inquiry Examines Nine Phones and Five Hard Drives

Police Major General Wilson Asueta, acting director for investigation and detective management, outlined the preliminary findings at a briefing in Cebu on 3 November.

'The investigation is going in the right direction,' he said, while stressing that forensic work was continuing.

According to reporting from the briefing by Cebu journalist Carmel Pedroza, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group had identified recordings appearing to depict the sexual abuse or exploitation of children.

Preliminary examination suggested the individuals shown were from outside the Philippines. No Filipino victims had been identified at that stage.

Those observations do not establish the recordings' origin or who was responsible for storing them. Asueta said specialist examiners had not completed their report, and police could not confirm whether Markle Sr. appeared in any of the material.

Investigators obtained a court-issued warrant to examine computer data from nine mobile phones, three SD cards, five hard drives and a camera.

The equipment was among items reportedly turned over by Markle Jr. to the regional office of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Central Visayas.

Police are still checking whether the devices belonged to his father. Even if their contents are confirmed to be unlawful, determining who created, downloaded or knowingly possessed the files will require further evidence.

The PNP has assembled investigators from several specialist units and is coordinating with the FBI and other US authorities. The involvement of American agencies does not indicate that they have established wrongdoing.

'If there is evidence, then we will file a case,' Asueta said. No complaint had been filed against Markle Sr. as of the briefing.

Thomas Markle Sr. Denies Allegations as UK Police Face Questions

The investigation gathered attention after The Sun published an interview with Markle Jr. on 22 October. He claimed to have discovered 'hundreds, if not thousands' of images among boxes of possessions he associated with his father. Police have not independently confirmed that estimate.

'When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad,' he told the newspaper. His account remains an allegation to be assessed alongside the digital and physical evidence.

Markle Sr., a retired television lighting director who previously lived in Cebu, rejected the accusations as 'sick lies' in comments reported by the Daily Mail. He has not been charged.

Meghan said in a statement to Sky News on 23 October that she was 'deeply distressed' by the reports and concerned for any children who might have been harmed. She also referred to an earlier letter containing allegations about her father. That correspondence has prompted separate scrutiny in Britain.

In an official statement on 29 October, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it had received a letter in January 2019 containing claims of alleged offending outside the UK. Officers passed it to the Sussexes' office but did not inform other law enforcement agencies.

The Met said it had referred its handling of the letter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. It also began arranging referrals to overseas authorities.

The UK police referral concerns decisions made about the letter, not a finding that its allegations were true. Officials have not publicly established any connection between the correspondence and the devices under examination in Cebu.

For Philippine investigators, the immediate unanswered questions remain: who owned the equipment, how the files reached it, and whether the forensic findings will support any criminal complaint.