On the now-defunct Fox show “Glee,” Noah “Puck” Puckerman said: “I’m a sex shark. If I stop moving, I die.”
In real life, the actor who played Puck — Mark Salling — will soon be a registered sex offender.
Salling has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of possessing child pornography on his laptop computer and will serve at least four years behind bars, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.
Salling, 35, of Sunland is expected to formally enter his plea before U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II on a date to be determined. At that point, a sentencing date will be scheduled.
Salling was named in a two-count indictment stemming from a December 2015 raid on his home when Los Angeles police detectives found thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography, according to court papers.
Once investigators realized the scope of the illegal collection, the matter was referred to federal authorities for further action.
Salling was accused of receiving at least one illicit image and a pornographic video of young girls via the internet, and being in possession of a 16-gigabyte USB flash drive that contained two videos showing girls who were younger than 12, according to the indictment.
Although facing a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, Salling’s plea deal called for a sentence of between four and seven years behind bars. He also agreed to serve 20 years of supervised release once he is set free and pay at least $50,000 to each victim seeking restitution, the document shows.
“The traditional stereotype about the kinds of people who commit child sexual exploitation crimes simply doesn’t dovetail with reality,” Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles, said previously.
“As our investigators can attest, the defendants in child pornography cases come in all ages and from all walks of life,” he said. “While people are often surprised when high-profile individuals come under scrutiny in such investigations, we hope cases like this will raise awareness about law enforcement’s vigilance to combat the online sexual exploitation of children and hold those involved, regardless of their position, accountable for their actions.”
Salling was born in Dallas but attended the Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in Pasadena.
— City News Service contributed to this report.