Glee actor Mark Salling, 35, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Salling was arrested in December 2015 for possessing child pornography and indicted for the same one and a half year later in May 2017. The federal court was going to announce his sentence on March 7.
Salling was found hanging in the riverbed area of Tujunga, Los Angeles, and the assistant chief investigator of Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Ed Winter told the Associate Press that the death is being investigated as a suicide. According to the report, when the authorities arrested Salling in December 2015, they found more than 5,000 images of child porn on his thumb drive.
Mark Salling in a still from Glee
Mark Salling was popular for playing the character of Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman in television series, Glee. He also acted in movies like Greg Spence’s Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996) and Michael Feifer’s The Graveyard (2006). After the charges were framed against him, he was ousted from Adi Shankar’s upcoming movie, Gods and Secrets (2018).
In 2013, Salling was also accused and sued by his ex-girlfriend, Roxanne Gorzela, of sexual assault, according to Huffpost.
Some of his co-actors expressed grief on his death, even as others denounced him as a paedophile trying to ‘avoid punishment’:
His death is painful for me Some of u might know him for only his flaws but I also knew him as someone who was great to work with & was kind to my kids. I truly wish he’d fought his demons &atoned himself & came out a winner. May we all find solace in some of his gentler memories
— iqbal theba (@iqbaltheba) January 31, 2018
Let me be clear. Having compassion for #MarkSalling in no way minimizes his crimes, nor does it minimize the pain and devastation of the victims of those crimes. I’m just saying stop adding to his family’s pain. This was their son. If you’re without sin, feel free to cast stones.
— Tim Davis (@loudmouthmuch) January 30, 2018
It’s sad news and I’m sad because he was a human being with whom practically I grew up watching during my adolescence. I do not defend what he did, but as a human I feel sad for him, his family and friends. #MarkSalling
— Erick (@Erickcourage) January 30, 2018
It’s a shame when anybody feels suicide is the answer.
However, #MarkSalling was a self admitted sex offender & peodophile contributing to kids experience the worst things anybody let alone a CHILD should ever experience.
And for that, I hope he rots in hell.
Yes, I said that.
— Prossy (@Pkakooza) January 30, 2018
What Mark Salling did was disgusting & unforgivable but to celebrate his suicide is also disgusting At the end of the day his family, friends and also the little fans he has left are grieving have some respect. They are the ones I feel sorry for #MarkSalling
— Nichole Murphy (@Nichole1999995) January 31, 2018
Considering the charges were proved against him, Salling would have been jailed for minimum of four to seven years.
