Prosecutors from the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California say the material was kept in two Los Angeles-area storage units that Markle rented for nearly two decades. Agents seized about 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books. An affidavit alleges at least 18 images amount to child pornography, among them photographs of Markle with prepubescent girls. It says two images show a man a witness identified as Markle with a nude underage girl. A description of the unsealed complaint says both images are decades old and show Markle clothed while touching nude girls.

Bill Essayli, First Assistant US Attorney, called the case "extremely serious." FBI Director Kash Patel said Markle "allegedly targeted innocent children" and that agents "moved quickly, identified and located the explicit material, and arrested Mr. Markle in Florida." Patel said the bureau committed "every single resource." Accounts of the arrest location vary between Lakeland and Tampa, and accounts of the maximum sentence on conviction range from 10 to 20 years.

The investigation began in the Philippines, where Markle once lived. His son, Thomas Markle Jr., Meghan's half-brother, reported the alleged possession to local police and the FBI. He told police he found "hundreds, if not thousands" of child sex abuse images at his father's former home there. One account of the complaint says agents found images at that home and in storage units in Mexico and California. The Justice Department's description refers only to the two Los Angeles-area units. A reporter has also said they found books about pedophilia and magazines showing children being sexually abused in an abandoned storage unit Markle rented near his former home in Mexico, and reported it to the FBI.

Meghan said she was "deeply distressed" by the allegations. She said a letter containing "troubling and disturbing allegations" about her father was sent to the Metropolitan Police in 2018, and that she cut contact with him to protect her children, Archie and Lilibet. She said she hopes "justice will be fully served." Some reports say the two were estranged before she had children or learned of the allegations.

Wilson Casueta, acting director of the Philippine National Police, told reporters on Tuesday that the Philippine investigation is continuing and that a case will be filed if the evidence is sufficient. He said the FBI is running its own inquiry. Philippine authorities have said the alleged material includes a video of children engaged in sex acts, and Casueta said no Filipino children were involved. He also said UK police had not contacted Philippine authorities.