'Glee' Actor Mark Salling Dies In Apparent Suicide

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – "Glee" actor Mark Salling – who pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges last month -- has died at age 35 of an apparent suicide.

A body was found in the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Canyon Road in Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles police confirmed to CBS2 Tuesday morning, but would not disclose the identity of the victim. However, Salling's family's attorney, Michael J. Proctor, confirmed the death to CBS2 in a statement, which read:

"I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning. 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."

Authorities believe Salling died of suicide, TMZ reports. The L.A. County coroner's office would not immediately comment on the death.

Salling is best known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the now-defunct Fox series "Glee."

In December, Salling pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom to a federal charge of possessing child pornography on his laptop computer and a flash drive. He was expected to be sentenced in March to between four and seven years in prison as part of a plea deal. He faced a maximum of 20 years behind bars.

Salling was named in a two-count indictment stemming from a December 2015 raid on his home when LAPD 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.

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