Late last year, in a particularly unpleasant bit of news, former Glee star Mark Salling was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography, with LAPD officers raiding his home after a reported tip-off from an ex-girlfriend.
Local police turned the case over to federal authorities, and over the weekend, Salling was officially charged in a two-count indictment. Per the LA Times, the counts relate to still images and videos he received on December 26 and December 29, 2015.
The actor, currently free on bail, is required to turn himself into federal authorities on June 3, and he will likely be arraigned at that time. If convicted, his charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.
The indictment indicates that a 16-gigabyte USB stick, containing two videos showing girls younger than 12, was among the items confiscated in the search of Salling’s residence.
In a statement, Lt Andrea Grossman of the LAPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force said:
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, if you hurt a child you will be held accountable. These images are more than photographs, they are child abuse.”
Salling’s IMDB page currently lists only one upcoming role, in a movie called Adi Shankar’s Gods And Secrets, alongside Denise Richards and Kellan Lutz. Director Shankar has said that he will cut Salling from the film if he is convicted.
Source: LA Times.
Photo: Paul Archuleta / Getty.
