Thomas Markle sent back to jail after cutting off bracelet
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sowetan
Thomas Markle, 82, Meghan Markle’s father, was sent back into custody on Tuesday after cutting off his electronic bracelet, violating the conditions of his pre-trial release for possession of child sexual abuse material. A federal judge in Tampa, Florida, ordered his return to custody without bail, according to court documents.
Thomas Markle, father of Meghan Markle, was returned to federal custody on Tuesday 10 November after removing his electronic bracelet while he was under house arrest awaiting trial in Florida. Federal Judge Lindsay Griffin found that he had violated the conditions of his release and ordered that he remain in custody without the possibility of bail, according to court documents cited by Sowetan.
Markle, 82, had been arrested on Friday and federally charged with possession of child sexual abuse material. Federal agents had seized photographs, slides, negatives and books from two storage units he had rented in Los Angeles since 2008, according to an FBI affidavit cited in the criminal complaint.
Federal prosecutors had sought to revoke his house arrest after discovering that the bracelet had been cut early Monday morning. Judge Griffin considered his housing conditions to have become untenable and ordered his return to federal custody, according to the Los Angeles federal prosecutors' office.
The return to custody comes after Thomas Markle’s psychiatric assessment, announced on 10 November. Markle had then been placed under judicial supervision pending the next stage of the proceedings.
