Mark Salling, who was well known for playing Noah Puckerman on FOX’s “Glee,” was found dead near Los Angeles, California this week. The 35-year-old was apparently awaiting sentencing in California on child pornography charges and was scheduled for a hearing in two weeks.
While the cause of death has not been released by officials, law enforcement told the Associated Press that Salling was reported missing hours before they discovered his body near Sunland at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday. Many outlets are reporting he committed suicide by hanging.
Salling was arrested by the LAPD in 2015 after receiving a tip of his activities involving child pornography. However, later the federal authorities had taken over the case due to the magnitude of the activity. He pled not guilty in June 2016 of charges but later admitted in 2017 that he used specific software to block his IP address and download thousands of photos illegally. Reports indicate that there were over 50,000 photos and videos on his laptop and thumb drives–some females as young as 3-years-old.
Salling was to appear in court in two weeks after pleading guilty and was expected to face up to 7 years in prison and be listed as a registered sex offender. As well, he had also signed off to pay $50,000 to each victim who submitted a request.
People on Twitter who used to be huge fans of the hit TV show Glee are now lashing out, saying they feel absolutely no remorse for his death and instead–feel bad for the victims who will no longer see justice served. Others are defending him.