The estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is back in custody after allegedly cutting an electronic monitoring device off his ankle just days after he was arrested and charged with possession of child sex abuse material.

Thomas Markle was originally arrested on Friday at a senior care centre in Florida after federal agents seized around 78 items – including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child sexual abuse images – from storage units in Los Angeles.

The 82-year-old former Hollywood lighting director, who uses a wheelchair after having his leg amputated last year, was taken from the Lakeland home in handcuffs by ambulance.

Hours later, a judge allowed him to be released on the condition that he be electronically monitored, which typically means wearing an ankle tether.

However, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Markle was re-arrested shortly after he allegedly cut off the ankle bracelet at 1.45am on Tuesday (local time).

“Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions,” Essayli wrote on X.

“We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

US Magistrate Judge Lindsay Griffin agreed. After a further hearing in the federal court in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, she ordered that Markle now be kept in custody, adding that his housing situation had become “untenable”.

Four days ago, a federal judge allowed Mr. Markle to remain out of custody pending trial. He was ordered to wear a location monitoring device. He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night. Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.

— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) November 10, 2026

At Markle’s initial court appearance on Friday, Griffin ordered a mental competency exam and a report by November 20.

The judge said he showed a “lack of recall” in his initial court appearance, which raised questions about whether he was competent to face prosecution.

The latest development comes after Meghan Markle, who has been estranged from her father for around eight years, pulled out of plans to speak at a child online safety event on Tuesday at the European Parliament.

In what was to have been her first public appearance since Thomas Markle was charged, the duchess had been scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the opening of an art installation commemorating children who died as a result of suffering harm on social media.

Meghan still attended the event alongside husband Prince Harry, who delivered a speech, but the pair made no comment when journalists asked the duchess how she was feeling.

She has previously said she was “deeply distressed” over the allegations against her father.

Thomas Markle was living in the Philippines this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated, which forced him to return to the US

His arrest followed reports by British tabloid The Sun that Meghan’s half-brother found a collection of child sexual abuse images while clearing out their father’s home in the Philippines.

That discovery led to information about two US storage units in California, which Markle had rented since 2008. Material found in the units allegedly included sexually explicit photographs of him with underage girls.

Police in the Philippines have also been said to be close to bringing charges against Markle after child abuse images were allegedly found at his former home there last month.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

–with AP