Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, cut off ankle monitor shortly after release from federal custody: DOJ
Meghan Markle's father arrested in Florida
LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow breaks down the latest details with criminal defense attorney Nick Gounaris after Meghan Markle's father was arrested on child sex abuse material charges Friday.
Thomas Markle, father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested shortly after cutting off his ankle bracelet early Tuesday.
The 82-year-old was given the monitoring device just days after he was arrested for allegedly keeping child sexual abuse material in storage units in California.
Thomas Markle arrested
Dig deeper:
Markle was in custody awaiting a federal hearing in Tampa, Florida, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Markle was arrested shortly after cutting off the ankle monitor at 1:45 a.m.
The backstory:
Last week, Markle was arrested following 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.
Markle was taken from a senior care center in Lakeland by ambulance and hours later, a judge allowed Markle to be released as long as he wore an ankle monitor.
FILE - Thomas Markle Sr. is seen on a photoshoot on August 10, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)
What's next:
He was scheduled for a mental health evaluation by Nov. 20.
Meghan Markle responds
What they're saying:
The Duchess of Sussex, who married Prince Harry in 2018, said the allegations made against her estranged father were "deeply" distressing.
"It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," Meghan said of the letter. "I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children was for one reason: to protect them."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and previous reporting by WTVT and LiveNOW from FOX. This story was reported from San Jose.