‘Glee’ Star Mark Salling Dies in Apparent Suicide
“Glee” star Mark Salling was found dead in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday morning, according to the Associated Press. He was 35.
According to TMZ, Salling died of an apparent suicide by hanging, and was found near a riverbed adjacent to a little league baseball field in the Tujunga neighborhood of L.A. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, however, could not confirm the death until next of kin is informed. Official’s said his death is being investigated as a suicide.
“I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning,” Salling’s attorney, Michael J. Proctor, said in an email to the Associated Press. “Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment.” Proctor did not reveal the cause of death.
The actor had recently pleaded guilty to charges of possession of child pornography and was facing four to seven years in prison, with 20 years supervised release. His sentencing was scheduled for March 7.
Salling had reached a plea agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where he pleaded guilty to “one felony count of possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.” The filing states that more than 50,000 images and videos of child porn and erotica were found on his laptop, in addition to about 4,000 photos and 160 videos of child porn found on his USB flash drive.
The actor had to pay $50,000 in restitution to each of the victims who requested it and register as a sex offender.
In December 2015, Salling was first arrested for possessing child pornography after his residence was searched by the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
He was indicted on two counts of child pornography, and charged with receiving and possessing child porn on his laptop and a USB flash drive in May 2016. The items obtained from his home reportedly held thousands of images and videos depicting child porn. After the case was referred to federal authorities, he pleaded not guilty in June 2016.
Salling was known for starring on Fox’s hit show “Glee” from 2009 to 2015 as Noah “Puck” Puckerman. His other credits include the 2014 TV movie “Rocky Road” and a guest role on “Walker, Texas Ranger” in 1999.
He was dropped from the film “Gods and Secrets” after his child porn indictment.
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