The Daily Mail has reported the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father to the FBI after discovering a stash of child pornography in a storage unit he rented near his former home in Mexico.
Among the hoard, which includes books about pedophilia and magazines showing children being sexually abused, are several loose photographs of naked Asian females – who, in some cases, look conspicuously young.
The Daily Mail traveled to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, to look into Thomas Markle's past life there. The publication was informed that a storage unit had been rented and abandoned by Markle.
Receipts seen by the Daily Mail confirm that he rented the 5ft by 10ft unit in 2017, six years after he moved to Rosarito, ten miles from the US border.
Our reporter was granted access to the unit after Markle, the Daily Mail is told, failed to keep up with his lease-agreement payments for the past two years.
Alongside the stash, which includes magazines published in Asia and depicting child pornography, are family mementoes, photographs and letters.
The Daily Mail also uncovered 35mm negatives showing apparently random, voyeuristic images of children on a beach. Other negatives show a woman with her limbs bound or ‘hogtied’ and being directed by a man during a photo shoot.
Our reporter made the disturbing discovery as police obtained a warrant to investigate child-sex images allegedly found in boxes of Markle’s possessions at his son’s home in the Philippines, where he lived after leaving Rosarito in January 2025.
The Daily Mail has alerted the FBI after uncovering a stash of sexually explicit books, magazines and photos - including of Asian females who look conspicuously young - in a Mexican storage unit rented by Thomas Markle
There are around 20 boxes in the storage unit, some containing books about pedophilia and magazines showing children being sexually abused
Earlier this week, a Filipino official, Jonvic Remulla, said the former Hollywood lighting technician, 82, could be a ‘sex offender of the grossest kind.’ Remulla added that ‘all signs’ pointed to the possibility that a serious offense had been committed.
The investigation was launched into the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father after his son, Thomas Markle Jr, alerted Philippine National Police to the reported stash.
Markle denies wrongdoing.
The discovery of the Mexican storage unit, three miles from his former home, marks another extraordinary development in a case that could see Markle facing ten to 12 years in jail if charged and convicted.
It was while he was living in Rosarito that his relationship with Meghan fell apart. In the lead up to her 2018 wedding, he was caught secretly collaborating with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures at a time when Prince Harry was urging the media to leave his future father-in-law alone.
Most of the photos found among 20 storage boxes in the Rosarito unit appear to have been taken when Markle was in his 40s or 50s. He was 43 when he and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, divorced in 1987 after eight years of marriage.
Nearly half the 31 roughly 10inch-by-8inch black and white photos appear to be of the same girl. In one, Markle, bearded and wearing a polo-style shirt and jeans, poses on the hotel bed alongside her while holding a cigarette in his right hand and staring into the camera.
The girl’s expression is more relaxed and smiley. She is wearing a white lacy top, white belt and dark jeans and is clutching a small bag.
Among the photos in the unit is an undated image of Markle on a bed and with his arm wrapped around a young Asian female, both fully clothed. She appears, alone and naked, in several other pictures as well
Among the items in the storage unit are more than 50 video tapes, with titles such as ‘Boys – Brother and Sister – Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites’
But in the same hotel room she is also photographed naked and leaning forward, a necklace with a heart emblem around her neck.
Sixteen more 10x8inch black and white prints show various other naked girls. There is no evidence that Markle had sex with any of them.
Elsewhere in the storage unit are more than 50 video tapes, with titles such as ‘Boys – Brother and Sister – Russian XX’ and ‘Manila Nites.’ Precisely what is on these tapes is currently unknown.
A stack of books includes titles such as Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People and The Invisible Children.
He also has the book Victorian Children, which contains photos of naked young girls from that era; Young Aphrodites, which pictures young girls; David Hamilton's Private Collection, with photos of young girls; and Hollywood Lolitas. There is a soft-cover book called Le Fairy, again printed in the Far East, which contains naked photos of girls who appear pre-pubescent.
There is also a paper plate with the words 'DARK WEB' scribbled in red ink alongside various URLs.
Markle has seven hard drives stripped from computers in the storage unit.
There is also an old computer tower, with a paper taped to it that reads 'Overheated… Virus!’
The Daily Mail is told that Thomas Markle Sr first rented the storage unit in 2017 but stopped paying rent on it in 2024
Several books have themes of pedophilia with titles such as Hollywood Lolitas
Another stack of books includes titles such as Forbidden Sexual Behavior and Morality, The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People and The Invisible Children
Also stuck on the tower are instructions on how to run the WinCleaner program, which wipes hard drives of all information, along with an activation code.
Four computer pen drives are in the unit along with two digital cameras from the early 2000s and two cameras designed for use by children. There is also an old Apple computer.
It is unknown what remains stored on any of the devices.
Markle did not respond to the Daily Mail's several attempts to reach him for comment.
Our reporter is told that he visited the unit a couple of times a month in the early years after renting it, bringing in items and taking others away.
The last time he was seen there was in March 2024 when he renewed the lease for three months. He has not been seen since.
His son, Thomas Jr, never visited the unit, nor did other people, according to a source.
Markle is now in a rehab facility in central Florida where he is recovering and learning to walk again following the amputation of his left leg in the Philippines 11 months ago.
The Daily Mail also uncovered VHS tapes – including one labeled 'Manila Nites.' The precise contents of the tapes are not known
An old computer tower was found with a note reading 'Overheated Virus!' taped to it, alongside digital cameras and flash drives. It is unknown what is on the devices
Instructions on how to run a WinCleaner program, which wipes hard drives of all information, along with an activation code, were seen in the unit
There is also a paper plate with the words 'DARK WEB' scribbled in red ink alongside various URLs
It was shortly after that operation that exclusive images taken by the Daily Mail showed the moment Markle was given a letter from Meghan cutting him out of his grandchildren’s lives.
The explosive message revealed Meghan ‘knew her father had abused young girls’ and that he would never meet his grandchildren, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
Last week Markle admitted that he paid for sex in the Philippines when he was single. ‘I never had sex with anyone under the age of 18,’ he said. ‘I like Asian women but that is not a crime.’
And he strongly denied his son’s claims that he downloaded child sex images onto computers and cellphones shared with authorities in the first haul, saying they are ‘the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.’
After moving to Mexico, the former lighting director for hit shows General Hospital and Married… with Children lived a secluded life in a rented property in the gated community of San Antonio del Mar.
His former property is currently undergoing reconstruction.
Locals the Daily Mail spoke with this week said he was rarely seen, apart from the odd foray to an expat bar, a minimarket and a Walmart.
‘Frankly, he seemed to live like a hermit. Nobody in all the years he was here really got to know him,’ said one local.
Receipts seen by the Daily Mail confirm the Rosarito Beach unit was rented by the Duchess of Sussex's estranged dad after he moved from Los Angeles to his retirement home in Mexico
Thomas Markle, who previously worked as a lighting director on hit TV shows and soap operas, left Los Angeles for Rosarito in 2011. He is pictured in 2018
General views of Markle's former home in Rosarito, Mexico, just ten miles south of the US-Mexico border
He left the Philippines in May to stay at a rehab center in Florida, leaving his possessions in Cebu, Philippines with his son, Thomas Jr, who had been his caretaker.
The Sun reported last week that Thomas Jr, 60, found ‘hundreds, if not thousands’ of child sex images in four boxes, and had reported his father to Filipino detectives and the FBI in the US, which are both investigating.
One 35mm photograph reportedly shows a bearded man resembling Markle having sex with a young Asian girl – although he has said in response that he has ‘never been in a photograph like that.'
Thomas Jr said: ‘When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad. I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years, but that stops now. I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.’
He later said: ‘I’m so, so sorry Meghan. I now know I have been protecting the wrong person for the past nine years. Having seen what I’ve seen, I believe the man I’ve been defending and caring for is a monster.’
After his revelation, Meghan said in a statement she had learned of child sex allegations in 2019 after being contacted by British police.
She said she was assured the ‘troubling and disturbing’ allegations were being investigated and was advised that speaking out could jeopardize any legal case.
The Daily Mail approached Samantha Markle at her home in Florida to ask about the contents of her father's Mexico storage unit. Her boyfriend, Mark Phillips, answered the door and Samantha could be seen in the background but chose not to speak.
Phillips said: 'The only statement that you’re going to get is that Thomas Markle doesn’t even have fingerprints on the stuff in the Philippines...He didn't even ever touch it the whole time it was there, he can't be charged.
'Markle never had it in Mexico either...The FBI has no jurisdiction in Mexico. Thomas Markle Sr hasn’t lived in the States in 10 years. Even if there was bad [material] then the statute of limitations ran out five years ago. This is all bulls**t.'
Additional reporting by Andrea Noel and Emma James
