Meghan Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, assisted authorities in identifying her ex-husband, Thomas Markle, in disturbing images uncovered during an ongoing investigation into alleged child sexual abuse.
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mother → assist → abuse
Ragland, 70, who was married to Markle from 1979 to 1987, was shown redacted versions of sexually explicit images and helped federal investigators by identifying her ex-husband, The UK Times reported.
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Times → marry → husband
Markle was arrested at a senior care facility in Florida on Friday and charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
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Markle → arrest → California
What did the photos allegedly show?
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photos → show → What
In the criminal complaint against Markle, prosecutors allege he was photographed decades ago appearing to fondle young girls.
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he → allege → girls
The newly unsealed document says he was clothed in two images in which he allegedly touched naked girls.
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he → unseal → girls
According to the New York Post, one photo allegedly shows a girl exposed and sitting on his lap as he touched her.
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he → accord → her
In the other, Markle is reportedly lying on a bed with a nude girl sprawled in front of him.
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girl → lie → him
Investigators believe Markle was in his 30s or 40s when the photographs were taken, suggesting they may date back to before Meghan was born or when she was very young.
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she → believe → 30s
The Justice Department previously said Markle allegedly kept “sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls.”
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Markle → say → girls
The images Ragland viewed were reportedly among materials recovered from storage units Markle rented in the Los Angeles area for nearly two decades.
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Markle → view → decades
Authorities searched the units after a witness signed an affidavit alleging Markle had child sexual abuse material in his home in the Philippines and had rented a storage unit in Los Angeles.
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Markle → search → Angeles
Placed under house arrest
Following his arrest, Markle appeared in court and was placed under house arrest at Maravida Senior Living in Lakeland, Fla., where he had initially been detained.
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he → place → Lakeland
He is “accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
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Essayli → accuse → statement
“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.”
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we → prosecute → law
If found guilty, Markle could face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
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Markle → find → prison
A date has not been set for his arraignment, which will take place in California.
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which → set → California
FBI was aware of allegations in October
Last month, the FBI said it was aware of the allegations against Markle and would provide support, as appropriate, to authorities in the Philippines.
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it → say → Philippines
It also said it would “investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law.”
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it → say → law
The Duchess of Sussex said in a statement that she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations against her father.
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she → say → father
She also referenced a letter she said London’s Metropolitan Police received in 2018 that was subsequently shared with her.
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that → reference → her
“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,” Meghan said in her statement.
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Meghan → hope → statement
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families,” she added.
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she → trust → families
“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
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priority → uncover → children
The Aporia
