An actor who once starred on the popular TV series “Glee” has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges, admitting he possessed about 25,000 photos showing children doing sexual acts, the California Department of Justice announced Monday.
Salling, a 35-year-old resident of Shadow Hills, agreed to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor. As part of that deal, filed in October, he told prosecutors that he downloaded the images in 2015 and used software designed to hide his illegal activity.
Law enforcement officials found the vast collection of child porn on a laptop as well as on a hard drive and USB flash drive after they were reported by a girlfriend of Salling’s, prosecutors said. He had shown her some of the images.
While the crime carries a minimum sentence of 20 years, prosecutors and the legal representation for Salling have agreed that an “appropriate sentence” would be four to seven years in federal prison and then 20 years of “supervised release,” according to a news release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
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