LOS ANGELES – A Florida man was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he kept child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including sexually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades.
Thomas Wayne Markle, 82, of Lakeland, Florida, is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
Markle is expected to make his initial appearance today in United States District Court in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
“Mr. Markle is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material, including photographs depicting himself with minor girls,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law.”
There should be charges of making CSAM, not just possession of it.
“The FBI and our partners have arrested Thomas Markle Sr. after an FBI investigation revealed he was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM),” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “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, Manila, and Marshall Islands Law Enforcement Attaches, and our partners who executed quickly in this case.”
“This case highlights the importance of the involvement of the public, even if it’s a family member or close friend, to be vigilant and speak up if they have information on individuals they suspect may be preying on and exploiting our children,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We remind the public that anyone with information regarding the exploitation of our most vulnerable, is urged to contact local law enforcement immediately or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, in October 2026, law enforcement learned that an individual signed an affidavit regarding their discovery of suspected CSAM among Markle’s possessions in the Philippines. Law enforcement also interviewed another individual who disclosed that Markle rented a storage unit in the Los Angeles area. Information from the first individual later led agents to a second unit.
Pursuant to judicially authorized warrants, FBI special agents searched two storage units registered to Markle. Markle has rented both storage units since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made last month by auto-pay.
Inside the units, agents seized approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books that contained suspected CSAM. The affidavit describes three of those images. Two images depict an adult man – whom a witness 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 also describes additional 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.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel H. Weiner of the Transnational Organized Crime Section, Kevin J. Butler of the Major Crimes Section, and Kathy Yu, Chief of Ethics, Trials, and Compliance, are prosecuting this case.
