GLEE's Mark Salling Strikes Plea Deal on Child Pornography Charges; Will Serve Up to 7 Years in Prison

Deadline reports that Mark Salling, perhaps best known as football player Noah "Puck" Puckerman on FOX's musical dramedy GLEE, has struck a deal over charges of child pornography. The actor will now head to prison where he will serve nearly a decade behind bars, followed by 20 years of supervised release.

In court this week, Salling stated that he is "pleading guilty because I am guilty of the charges" and accepted "48-84 months of imprisonment." The actor was facing up to 20 years in jail and a lifetime of supervised release prior to the plea deal. He was arrested on December 29, 2015 and indicted on two counts for receiving and possessing child pornography on his laptop computer and a flash memory drive in May of 2016.

The plea deal, SIGNED by Salling, Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Lynn Blanch and the actor's lawyers Michael Broctok and Kimberly Sing on October 3rd states: "Defendant knowingly possessed matters which the defendant knew contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct." According to the document, Salling will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will pay $50,000 to each victim who has requested it. The actor will have to "participate" in a treatment program and stay away from venues frequented by minors such as schools and "video arcade facilities." Any future computers or related digital devices that Salling uses will be subject at any time to "search and seizure."

Salling was recently cast in Adi Shankar's GODS AND SECRETS but was dropped from the production following his indictment. In addition to his run on GLEE, he has appeared in the films CHILDREN OF THE CORN IV: THE GATHERING and THE GRAVEYARD.

Photo: RD / Orchon / Retna Digital