Glee Actor Mark Salling Charged With Child Pornography Offences

Former “Glee” star Mark Salling was indicted on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography by a federal grand jury on Friday.

The Wrap reports:

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Salling, known for playing Noah “Puck” Puckerman on the popular Fox musical series, was arrested in December by the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

A search warrant issued for the actor’s residence reportedly uncovered as many as 1000 images depicting minors simulating sexual acts. The photos were allegedly spread across a laptop and flash drive.

“Those who download and possess child pornography create a market that causes more children to be harmed,” United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. “Young victims are harmed every time an image is generated, every time it is distributed, and every time it is viewed.”

Salling was charged with both receiving and possessing child pornography, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The indictment specifies that Salling used the Internet to receive a still image and a video depicting child pornography on Dec. 26, 2015. These images depicted young girls.

The second count in the indictment charges Salling with possessing two videos depicting child pornography on Dec. 29, 2015. The image and video also depicted young girls.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Salling has agreed to surrender himself to federal authorities on June 3, when he will most likely be arraigned as well.

This is not Salling’s first encounter with the law. In 2013, a woman sued him for sexual battery and accused him of knocking her to the ground after she confronted him over the incident. The case was settled in March for $2.7 million, according to E! News.