Thomas Markle was taken into federal custody in Florida after prosecutors alleged he removed his ankle monitor, and a judge ordered him held without bail. The decision came about a week after he was arrested on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material and released to home detention, putting his pretrial release conditions under further scrutiny.
Florida judge orders detention without bail
A Justice Department spokesperson said Markle appeared in Tampa before a federal magistrate judge. Prosecutors allege he removed his monitoring device at 1:45 a.m. local time. The judge then ordered him detained without bail, and he is now in federal custody, the spokesperson said.
Markle was arrested in Florida last week. The court had allowed him to remain at home pending trial, subject to location monitoring. No plea was recorded at his earlier court appearance. Prosecutors are now asking the court to revoke his release and keep him in custody through trial.
Bill Essayli, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said on X that the release conditions were a court order, not a recommendation. He said prosecutors would seek to have Markle’s release revoked while continuing the case.
FBI search focused on a Los Angeles storage unit
The Justice Department said the FBI searched a Los Angeles storage unit registered to Markle last week under a warrant. He had rented the unit since 2008, and the department said the last payment was made in October of that year. Investigators said they seized about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books, and suspect some may contain child sexual abuse material.
The department also said a witness identified Markle in two images believed to depict child sexual abuse material. The man shown appears to be between about 30 and 40 years old. Markle is 82, meaning that if the person pictured is him, the images may date back several decades. That is a lead described in the case materials, not a finding established in court.
Markle denies the allegation; no plea entered
Markle faces one federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material. He has denied possessing such images and called the allegation “a disgusting lie.” He has not yet entered a plea. His representative has not commented on the latest detention order.
FBI Director Kash Patel said last week that Markle was suspected of preying on children. The prosecution’s allegations, investigators’ descriptions of the images and Markle’s denial remain subject to review in court. No date for the next hearing has been made public.