INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Mark Salling: ‘Glee’ Actor In Court, Pleaded Not Guilty To Child Porn, Cut From Miniseries

By Merry Strong
Published on: 16:23 PST, Jun 4, 2016

Mark Salling appeared in court Friday. The Glee actor pleaded not guilty to two counts of child pornography. According to a Us Weekly Magazine report, Judge Rosella A. Oliver ordered Salling’s bail to be set at $150,000. His trial date has been set for July 12.

If you’re a fan of Glee, you probably already know that Salling is most famous for his role as Noah Puckerman. “Puck’s” legal trouble actually began at the end of last year. In December, 2015, authorities seized the actor’s laptop, a USB flash drive, and a hard drive. Collectively, these devices contained thousands of pictures of underage girls.

In addition to setting Mark Salling’s bail, Judge Oliver restricted his internet usage and travel capabilities. The actor must also wear a GPS monitoring bracelet, pay $100,000 of his own bail, and take mandatory drug tests.

In essence, what that means is that Salling had his passport taken away and he can only use electronic equipment approved by federal authorities.

Many of the stipulations were put into place to help ensure that Salling doesn’t miss any future court appearances. He wouldn’t be the first person to attempt to leave the country, in a situation like this.

Unfortunately, the conditions of his release didn’t stop there. He was ordered to stay at least 100 feet away from any location where children congregate. As you might guess, that includes venues such as parks, arcades, and schools.

Billboard reported that prosecutors requested Salling remain in custody, while his case is still pending. However, the request was denied.

The charges Mark Salling faces include one count of possessing two child porn videos and one count of using the internet to obtain a porn-related photograph. If the Glee actor Mark Salling is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

The Friday court date was not a scheduled one. For whatever reason, Salling made the decision to surrender to federal authorities. His lawyer accompanied him to a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, where Judge Oliver set forth her ruling.

The fact that Mark pleaded not guilty to the charges comes too late for the directors of the miniseries Gods and Secrets. The co-director just released the following statement.

Adi Shankar’s Gods and Secrets will be moving forward without Mark Salling. He has been cut from the miniseries, I will personally be paying for the reshoots, and I hope that Mark finds inner peace. Furthermore, a percentage of profits from the project will go to a charity for abused children.”

Obviously, getting cut from the miniseries is not good news for Mark Salling. Currently unemployed, the outlook seems bleak for the accused child pornographer.

As recently reported by the Inquisitr, Salling came to court prepared. Not only did he bring his attorney with him, he brought a $100,000 check to secure his release. Apparently, the money-related arrangement was made in advance of his appearance.

What are your feelings about Mark Salling? Do you think the Glee actor will ever recover from this, in regard to a future career? Do you think it made sense for him to plead not guilty when thousands of photos of underage girls were found on his electronic devices? Feel free to leave your comments, in regard to Mark Salling and child pornography below

[Photo by Nicole Evatt/AP Images]

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