Duchess Meghan ‘deeply distressed’ as father Thomas Markle faces child sex abuse investigation

London – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday that she was “deeply distressed” by reports that her father, Thomas Markle, is being investigated by Philippine authorities for alleged possession of child sexual abuse material.

Meghan, who recently returned to Britain with her husband Prince Harry and their children, said she had known about the allegations against her father since 2018 and that the allegations were then shared with British authorities.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royal and Specialist Protection. This letter was subsequently shared with me. It contained disturbing and worrying allegations against my father and I was assured that they were being investigated,” his Friday statement said.

CBS News has reached out for comment from the London Metropolitan Police regarding Meghan’s statement.

Meghan said she distanced herself from her father in an effort to protect her children.

“I hope we can now understand that, despite the distortion of some media publications over the years, any distance from my father and my choice not to allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason only: to protect them,” she said.

British tabloid The Sun reported Thursday that Thomas Markle, who has been separated from his daughter for yearshad been reported to Philippine authorities by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., after the young man allegedly discovered child pornography in storage boxes at his father’s home in the Philippines.

The Daily Mail reported on Friday that Markle had denied the allegations against him.

“I have never downloaded anything like this in my life,” he reportedly told the newspaper, calling the allegations “sick lies.”

According to the Mail, Thomas Jr. made the discovery while his father was in the United States receiving treatment for a stroke and blood clot. The son first saw some of the documents after turning on an old cellphone at his father’s home in the Philippines, and he later reported those documents in July to an FBI hotline, as well as the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and the Pennsylvania State Police, according to the newspaper report.

Philippine state media confirmed Friday, in a post shared on Facebook, that an investigation was underway.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday it is investigating reports involving an octogenarian U.S. national who left videos and photos of child abuse at his home in Cebu province,” the official Philippine News Agency said.

A Philippine justice official said the department’s anti-trafficking task force was investigating the case and confirmed that Thomas Markle Sr. was the subject of the investigation, according to the PNA report.

Meghan said in her statement that her “deepest hope is that justice is fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”