‘Glee’ actor Mark Salling dies weeks before child pornography sentencing

Mark Salling has died of apparent suicide by hanging in Los Angeles. The former “Glee” actor, who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography charges, was 35.

Salling was reported missing at 3 a.m. before he was found hanging from a tree near a riverbed in the Tujunga neighbourhood. According to TMZ, police received a call requesting a “welfare check” on him. They discovered his body near a little league field adjacent to a creek. He had reportedly been dead for some time.

Salling was due to be sentenced on March 7 for his crimes. He was facing four to seven years in prison as part of a deal with prosecutors that led him to plead guilty in December. He would also have been required to register as a sex offender.

Previously, he was accused of sexual battery in January 2013 by a woman who claimed was forced to have unprotected sex. The case was settled out of court.

In December 2015, Salling was arrested at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of possessing photos and videos of child pornography. A search warrant revealed he hid more than 50,000 images of child pornography on his computer and thumb drive. He was charged the following May, leading to his firing from “Adi Shankar’s Gods and Secrets.” He pleaded guilty in December.

Salling was best known for his role as Puck in the US musical comedy series “Glee.” He was a regular character from the first season in 2009 until the fourth season before he was reduced to a recurring role in the show’s fifth.

Meanwhile, “Glee” producer Tim Davis has garnered criticism on Twitter for his tweet about Salling’s death. Davis wrote that the disgraced actor was a broken man and a victim of abuse himself, a statement that didn’t sit well with his followers, who interpreted the tweet as one excusing Salling’s crimes.