Though many believe that Mark Salling is postponing the inevitable, Salling, the former star of Glee, is hiring a new lawyer with more experience in Federal criminal cases. Moving the trial to September doesn’t change much for Salling as he still needs to stay clean of drugs and alcohol and wear an ankle monitor while out on bail, but it does buy him some more time to either put together a case, or negotiate a deal with the Federal prosecutor who has charged him with possessing and sharing child pornography. Most recently, Salling was fired from a project that wanted to distance itself from any whiff of child porn.
According to the Inquisitr, Mark Sallling was allegedly leading a strange double life that involved being a womanizer, but also possessing child porn on his phone and computer. Salling, 33, was raided by the LAPD, and it was alleged that in addition to the phone and computer, Salling was in possession of a 16 GB thumb drive with images of very young girls involved in sex acts. Lt. Andrea Grossman made it clear that whether you are a sanitation worker, a politician, or an actor, if you are involved in child porn, you will be prosecuted.
The Daily Mail reported that Mark Salling informed the court that he was seeking a new lawyer to represent him in the Federal child porn case. Mark Salling’s trial date was supposed to be July 12th, but he has gotten a postponement. Salling now has a new lawyer, Michael Proctor, and a hearing date of September 19th, but no new trial date.
For now, Mark Salling is still out on $150k bail, and he must wear an ankle monitor. His surrendered passport was turned over to the court by his former lawyer, Alan Eisner. Salling must still routinely submit to drug tests and ask permission before using the internet.
Initially, Salling just had to post $20k bail, but after the LAPD had gone through Salling’s computer, phone, and other devices, they realized that the case against him was bigger than they had thought, and it went from being a local case to a Federal one, focused on Salling, who allegedly possessed photos and videos of child pornography.
If found guilty, Mark Salling could face up to forty years in prison.
E! News says that Mark Salling has pleaded not guilty and will move ahead with new attorney Michael Proctor. Salling asked the court to delay the proceedings against him while he replaced his initial lawyer with Procter going forward. The court granted the wishes of Mark Salling and will hold the next hearing with Salling now represented by Proctor.
Salling was the target of a search by the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Unit, who got a warrant to search the home of Mark Salling in late December. Many items were seized including a USB flash drive which “contained thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography.”
For now, in addition to being drug tested and wearing an ankle monitor, Salling must stay away from places where children congregate, including playgrounds and parks.
Page Six says that on September 19th, Salling will come to court with his new lawyer, Michael Proctor, for a status hearing. Page Six also revealed that this isn’t the first brush with the law for Mark Salling, who was previously accused of sexual battery against a woman over the age of 18. In that suit, a judge required Mark Salling to pay the woman $2.7 million in damages.
For now, Mark Salling is not involved in any movie, theater, or television projects.
[Photo by Frederick Brown/Getty Images]