Former “Glee” actor Mark Salling is facing considerable prison time after taking a plea deal in his child pornography case just two weeks shy of his federal felony trial.
The actor, 35, agreed to serve a 4-to-7-year prison sentence for possessing pornographic images of prepubescent minors on his personal computer, the deal paperwork filed Tuesday and obtained by the Daily News states.
Salling, who was busted in December 2015, accepted the deal with the hope it will spare him the maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Under the deal, Salling admits that between April and December of 2015, he used the internet at his Los Angeles home to download thousands of images of child pornography.
“Defendant attempted to conceal his activity by using software that masked his IP address,” the plea agreement states. “However, on at least two occasions in 2015, defendant showed his child pornography to an adult woman in the context of their sexual relationship. This was ultimately reported to law enforcement.”
The court has not yet set a date for Salling to appear in person and change his plea to guilty, a prosecution spokeswoman told The News.
He was due to begin trial on October 17.
If the judge accepts the agreement at sentencing, Salling will pay $50,000 in restitution to each victim who requests it.
According to the agreement, Salling won’t be able to live anywhere “within direct view of school yards, parks, public swimming pools, playgrounds, youth centers, video arcade facilities or other places primarily used by persons under the age of 18.”
He also can’t contact with any minors in person or online without their parents present, and his electronic devices will be subject to search and seizure, according to the pac, the plea deal comes nearly two years after police entered his home using a battering ram and discovered the trove of disturbing images.
He was fired from his starring role in the miniseries “Adi Shankar’s Gods and Secrets” a short time later.
Salling must also register as a sex offender, refrain from owning a firearm and enroll in a sex offender treatment program.
- New York Daily News
