FLORIDA: The 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, cut an electronic monitoring device off his ankle, just days after his arrest for keeping child sexual abuse material in storage units in California, authorities said Tuesday.
Thomas Markle was in custody awaiting a hearing in federal court in Tampa, Florida, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said.
He was arrested shortly after he cut off the ankle bracelet at 1:45 a.m., Essayli said.
Markle’s arrest on Friday followed the seizure of approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse images in storage in the Los Angeles area, Essayli said.
During his arrest last week, he was taken from a senior care center in Lakeland by ambulance. Hours later, a judge allowed Markle to be released on the condition that he be electronically monitored, which typically means wearing an ankle tether.
The judge also ordered a mental competency exam and a report by Nov. 20.
His daughter, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in 2018. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. She is an American citizen and actor who starred in the US television drama “Suits.”
Meghan recently said she was “deeply distressed”
