Met Police Reportedly Asked Duchess of Sussex for Letter Alleging Child Sex Abuse Against Her Father

The Metropolitan Police reportedly misplaced a letter containing child sex abuse allegations against Thomas Markle and subsequently asked the Duchess of Sussex if she possessed a copy. The letter, sent by Mr. Markle's ex-wife Roslyn Loveless in January 2019, is understood to have been given to the Duchess by the police after they lost the original document.

Authorities in the Philippines are currently investigating Mr. Markle, who is 82 and resides in Florida, over allegations of possessing a trove of child sex abuse images. He has denied these claims. Ms. Loveless, who died two years ago and divorced Mr. Markle in 1975, reportedly wrote in her letter that Mr. Markle had stated he traveled to the Philippines and Thailand because the age of consent there is 12.

According to The Times, Ms. Loveless also claimed that Mr. Markle posed a threat to Prince Harry, Meghan, and her mother. She allegedly added that it was important for the Met Police to be aware of her ex-husband's 'unsavory background' for security and threat assessments in the UK.

It is further claimed that the force not only misplaced the letter but also failed to act on an earlier tip-off. The Metropolitan Police are reportedly assessing whether to refer their handling of the letter to a police watchdog. Jim Gamble, a former head of the National Crime Agency's child exploitation unit, criticized Scotland Yard's actions, suggesting they may have allowed child abuse to continue for years. He questioned why the police found the allegations credible enough to share with the Duchess but not with other law enforcement agencies.

Gamble stated that if Mr. Markle is eventually held accountable for offenses in ongoing investigations, there's a possibility that children suffered abuse for up to seven years due to the police's handling of the information. He emphasized that information regarding threats to children from individuals in foreign jurisdictions should typically be shared with agencies like the FBI and the National Crime Agency.

Ms. Loveless was the mother of Meghan's half-siblings, Samantha and Thomas Markle Jr. Samantha Markle has stated that if her mother sent the letter, it was out of 'hatred and bitterness,' and questioned her mother's credibility. Meghan and her father have been estranged since at least 2018, following his admission of staging paparazzi photos before her wedding to Prince Harry.

In December, the Duchess reportedly wrote to her father after his leg amputation in the Philippines, alleging he posed a risk to children and would not be allowed to meet his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet. Last Friday, police in the Philippines announced an investigation into Mr. Markle over claims he possessed thousands of child sexual abuse images, including one allegedly of himself with an underage girl. The Philippines' interior minister described Mr. Markle as a 'possible sex offender of the grossest kind.' Mr. Markle has denied wrongdoing, though he admitted to paying for sex with adults in the Philippines.