Duchess Meghan says she heard "disturbing allegations" about dad in 2018, as child sex abuse image probe launched

London — Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said in a statement sent to CBS News Friday that she was "deeply distressed" by reports that her father, Thomas Markle, is under investigation by authorities in the Philippines for alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials. 

Meghan, who recently moved back to Britain with her husband Prince Harry and their children, said she had been aware of allegations against her father since 2018, and that those allegations were shared with U.K. authorities at the time. 

"In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," her Friday statement said. 

At this time, it is understood that the Metropolitan Police has not and is not currently investigating Thomas Markle.

"We are aware of media reports that officers from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection Command were involved in the passing on of a letter in 2018," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said. "We are undertaking enquiries internally in an effort to confirm this."

Meghan said she had distanced herself from her father in an effort to protect her children.

"I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them," she said.  

The British tabloid The Sun reported Thursday that Thomas Markle, who has been estranged from his daughter for years, had been reported to authorities in the Philippines by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., after the younger man allegedly discovered child abuse materials in storage boxes at his father's home in the Philippines. 

The Daily Mail reported Friday that Markle had denied the allegations against him. 

"I have never downloaded anything like that in my life," he was quoted as telling the newspaper, as well as dismissing the allegations as "sick lies."  

According to the Mail, Thomas Jr. made the discovery while his father was in the United States being treated for a stroke and blood clot. The son initially saw some of the materials after turning on an old cell phone at his father's home in the Philippines, and he subsequently reported the materials in July to an FBI hotline, as well as the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children and state police in Pennsylvania, according to the newspaper's report.

Philippines state media confrimed Friday, in a post shared on Facebook, that an investigation was underway. 

"The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday said it is investigating reports involving an octogenarian American national who left child abuse videos and photos in his home in Cebu province," the state-run Philippine News Agency said. 

A Filipino justice official said the department's anti-trafficking task force was investigating the matter and it confirmed that Thomas Markle Sr. was the subject of the investigation, according to the PNA report.

Meghan said in her statement that her "sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children."