Police in the Philippines have confirmed that three memory cards and a mobile phone turned over by the son of Meghan Markle’s estranged father contained child sexual abuse material.
Last week, Philippine police said they were investigating a laptop found alongside images of child abuse at an alleged former residence of Thomas Markle Senior, whose daughter is married to Prince Harry.
Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla told AFP at the time the country planned to take “appropriate legal actions” if sufficient evidence was found. Markle Sr has denied all claims against him.
On Wednesday, the country’s national police confirmed to AFP that child abuse materials had been discovered among the cache turned over by his son amid an “intensifying” investigation.
“It is not enough to simply come across some materials and immediately draw conclusions,” Philippine national police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr said, in a statement provided in response to questions about the investigation.
“We have to establish where these came from, who may be responsible, and whether Philippine laws were violated,” he said.
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The revelation came a day after Mexican authorities raided a storage unit rented by Markle Sr as part of the ongoing investigation.
The prosecutor’s office of Mexico’s Baja California state said Monday it had received an anonymous tip about the existence of child sex abuse material.
Investigators said the owner of the storage unit reported Markle Sr had stopped paying rent for it in 2024 but his possessions remained secured inside.
Authorities reported finding “magazines from Asia” dating back 20 years, without giving further details, as well as computerequipment that has been taken in for further investigation.
The Sun first reported last month that Markle Sr’s son had discovered the child abuse images while going through boxes found in his father’s former home.
Meghan’s estranged father had been living in Cebu in the Philippines until reportedly returning to the United States earlier this year.
The Duchess of Sussex has previously said she was “deeply distressed” by accusations that her father had possessed images of child abuse, adding she had blocked contact between him and her children over previous “troubling and disturbing” allegations.
The latest development comes a day after Philippine authorities issued a significant update into their investigation, holding the first official press conference since the alleged discovery was revealed.
Local police told reporters on Tuesday that they were actively working with US authorities but have not yet been in communication with their British counterparts.
“The investigation is going in the right direction,” Pmgen Wilson Casueta, the Acting Director of the Philippine National Police, told media.
“If there is sufficient evidence, [then] we will file a case.”
Markle Sr, who is currently in the US where he has been undergoing medical treatment, has denied the accusations.
He told the Daily Mail: “This is bulls**t. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom [Junior] is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
Markle Sr also told The Mail on Sunday that he had travelled to the Philippines at least twice and had paid prostitutes for sex, but denied ever sleeping with anyone under the age of 18.
“I like Asian women but that is not a crime,” he said, adding: “I have not had my computer or phones for nearly two years. If there is anything bad on there it was put there by someone else.”
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