'Glee' Star Mark Salling Kills Himself Before Sentencing: Report

LOS ANGELES, CA — Mark Salling, the former “Glee” star awaiting a prison sentence for possessing a massive collection of child pornography killed himself, and his body was found near the Los Angeles River Tuesday.

Salling had hung himself from a tree, and police found him at 8:50 a.m. in the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Canyon Road Tuesday, said Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter. An autopsy is pending.

Salling's attorney, Michael J. Proctor, issued a statement confirming the death.

"I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning," Proctor said. "Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment. He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected."

Salling, 35, of Shadow Hills, was best known for playing Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the Fox series. Born in Dallas and a graduate of Lake Highlands High School, Salling's fame turned to notoriety in 2015 when investigators raided Salling's home after he showed pornographic images to a woman he was involved with. She reported him to authorities, and they found his 16-gigabyte USB flash drive that contained two videos showing girls who were younger than 12, according to the indictment.

He pleaded guilty to possessing more than 50,000 pornographic images of children in December and was set to be sentenced March 7 to at least four years behind bars, according to his plea agreement.

RELATED: 'Glee' Star Mark Salling Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charges

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Blanch told the court that between April and December 2015, Salling used the internet to download 600 videos and about 29,000 images of sexually abusive "child erotica," including some showing "sadistic and masochistic" behavior. Victims included children ages 2 to 6 years old, she said.

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. The actor 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.

Several victims portrayed in Salling's "highly organized" collection of illegal pornography have already come forward to request restitution, Blanch said.

People who look at such material come from all walks of life, Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles said during the case.

"The traditional stereotype about the kinds of people who commit child sexual exploitation crimes simply doesn't dovetail with reality," he said previously. "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."

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: Mark Salling arrives for a court appearance at United States Courthouse (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)