Eighty Two Year Old Thomas Wayne Markle Arrested on Federal Charges of Possessing Sexually Explicit Images of Himself with Minor Girls

         The feds arrested Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of  Florida, on possession of child pornography. The federal criminal complaint alleges he kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles storage units he rented for nearly two decades. Markle is supposed to appear today in United States District Court in Florida..

          The AUSA says they found child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting him with minor girls, and they consider the allegations extremely serious, and prosecutors intend to prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law. The FBI  arrested Thomas Markel Sr. after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The AUSA alleges that “Mr. Markle allegedly targeted innocent children and sought to steal their innocence through his criminal actions. Working with our Justice Department partners, our agents moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida. This FBI will use every single resource at our disposal to protect innocent kids – any predator who targets children will have zero safe haven in this country or anywhere they try to hide. Thank you to FBI Los Angeles, FBI Tampa, our Mexico and Marshall Islands Law Enforcement Attaches, and our partners who executed quickly in this case.”

          Apparently, in October 2026, law enforcement learned that suspected CSAM was found among Markle's possessions in the Philippines. Someone disclosed that Markle rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area. Armed with a search warrant, FBI special agents searched two storage units registered to Markle. Markle rented both storage units since 2008, and made payments on both last month by auto-pay.

          Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected CSAM.  According to the affidavit, two images depict an adult man – whom someone identified as Markle – with a nude prepubescent girl. The third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl in a room that appears to be part of a motel chain in the Philippines. The affidavit supposedly describes more photographs that appear to show Markle with children in various stages of undress.

          A criminal complaint merely contains allegations.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

          If convicted, Markle would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.