Thomas Markle, the estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been charged in the United States with possessing child sexual abuse material after FBI agents searched two Los Angeles-area storage units registered to him.
The 82-year-old was arrested in Florida on Friday, November 6, and appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Tampa, where he did not enter a plea.
He was released to his assisted living facility under home detention and electronic monitoring, according to reports from the BBC, Reuters and Sky News.
The US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said Markle faces one count of possession of child pornography under a federal criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said FBI agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books containing suspected child sexual abuse material, from two storage units Markle had rented since 2008.
According to the Justice Department, two images described in an FBI affidavit show an adult man, identified by a witness as Markle, with a nude prepubescent girl.
A third allegedly depicts a nude prepubescent girl in what investigators believe was a motel in the Philippines.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and the Justice Department said Markle is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Markle previously denied allegations that he possessed child sexual abuse material, describing them to the Daily Mail as "sick lies".
An arraignment in California is expected to be scheduled later.
The FBI investigation followed reports in October that suspected child sexual abuse material had been discovered among Markle's possessions in the Philippines.
The Philippine Department of Justice said on October 23 that its anti-trafficking and online child-exploitation task force was investigating the matter.
The case has also renewed scrutiny of a 2019 letter received by London's Metropolitan Police containing allegations of offending outside the UK.
The Met acknowledged on October 29 that it did not share the allegations with other law-enforcement agencies at the time.
As an additional development, the force said the Independent Office for Police Conduct will independently investigate that decision, while the Met will examine its separate decision to pass the letter to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's office.
The Duke and Duchess have not commented on Markle's arrest or charge.