Meghan says she knew of allegations against father in 2018

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said she was “deeply distressed” by reports that authorities in the Philippines are investigating her estranged father, Thomas Markle, over alleged child abuse materials. She said she had been told of allegations against him in 2018 and had kept him away from her children to protect them.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection,” Meghan said in a statement sent to CBS News on Friday. “That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”

Meghan did not describe the allegations in the 2018 letter. CBS News and the BBC have sought comment from the Metropolitan Police. The BBC has also contacted Thomas Markle.

The Philippine Department of Justice is investigating reports that an American man left child abuse videos and photos at his home in Cebu province, the state-run Philippine News Agency reported Friday. According to the agency, a justice official said an anti-trafficking task force was handling the matter and confirmed that Markle was the subject of the investigation.

Markle denied possessing child sexual abuse images in an interview with the Daily Mail. “I have never downloaded anything like that in my life,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. He called the accusations “sick lies.”

The allegations were first reported by The Sun, which said Markle’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., reported his father to Philippine authorities after allegedly finding child abuse materials in storage boxes at his father’s home. According to the Daily Mail, the younger Markle first saw some of the material when he turned on an old cell phone while his father was in the United States receiving treatment for a stroke and blood clot. The newspaper reported that he contacted an FBI hotline, the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and Pennsylvania state police in July.

“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said. She said she had trusted authorities to protect other families after receiving the 2018 letter.

“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,” she said. Her “sincerest hope,” she added, was that “justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”

Meghan and Markle’s relationship broke down before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. The BBC reported that Markle accepted payment for staged photographs of himself preparing for the wedding and later withdrew from the ceremony, citing health problems. Meghan, Harry and their children have recently moved back to Britain, according to CBS News.