Reports: Former 'Glee' star Mark Salling dead of apparent suicide

Former "Glee" star Mark Salling, 35, is dead of an apparent suicide, the LAPD has confirmed to KTLA.

Law enforcement officials earlier confirmed a body was found on Tuesday near the Los Angeles River in Sunland, California. Salling's body hanging was reportedly found hanging from a tree after a family member contacted the LAPD at 3 AM Tuesday to report Salling as a missing person, according to TMZ.

Salling, who pleaded guilty in October to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, was awaiting sentencing at the time of his reported death. His guilty plea came nearly two years after investigators discovered more than 50,000 images and videos of child pornography on his laptop.

Some of the victims were as young as 3 to 5 years old, according to federal prosecutors.

The files were meticulously organized, and Salling definitively knew that the content featured real children, according to court filings.

Salling was facing between four and seven years in prison, with 20 years of supervised release, and was scheduled to be sentenced on March 7.

Separately, in 2013, a woman accused Salling of forcing her to have unprotected sex without her consent. He settled with her out of court in 2015.

The actor played leading character Noah "Puck" Puckerman on FOX's "Glee" from 2009 to 2015, the entire duration of the show.

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