TMZ is reporting that actor Mark Salling has died of an apparent suicide, confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. According to TMZ, his body was reportedly found at the Los Angeles River in Sunland, but how he died is still unknown. He was 35 years old.
Salling is best known for his role on Glee as Noah "Puck" Puckerman, but his life both during and following the series has involved frequent controversy. In 2013, he was sued for sexual battery. The case was later settled and Salling denied all charges. In 2015, he was arrested for possession of child pornography after the LAPD searched his home and found "hundreds of images." He was later charged in a federal indictment with "receiving and possessing child pornography on his laptop computer and a flash memory drive," according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney General's office.
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In December of 2017, Salling pleaded guilty to these charges, and was expected to spend four to seven years in prison with 20 years of supervised release and registry as a sex offender. The sentencing for the crimes was set to take place on March 7, 2018.
As a result of the initial charges, he was dropped from the movie Gods and Secrets.
"Adi Shankar’s Gods and Secrets will be moving forward without Mark Salling," director Adi Shankar told the Independent in a statement. "He has been cut from the mini-series, I will personally be paying for the reshoots, and I hope that Mark finds inner peace."
According to IMDB, Salling had no further acting projects following Glee.
Refinery29 has reached out to Salling's rep for comment.
If you are thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Suicide Crisis Line at 1-800-784-2433.
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