Mark Salling remains a free man – for now.
The 35-year-old Glee actor was snapped on Thursday grabbing takeout from Sake Sake, a Japanese eatery in the greater Los Angeles area, looking downcast as he made his way out of the establishment.
It was the first outing for the Dallas, Texas-born entertainer, who played the role of Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman on the Fox musical show. He entered a guilty plea for possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor in Los Angeles on Wednesday, locking in a prison sentence of four-to-seven years in his plea deal with prosecutors, according to documents first obtained by The Blast.
Scroll below for video
Embattled: Ex-Glee star Mark Salling, 35, was snapped grabbing takeout in LA on Thursday, a day after he entered a guilty plea to child pornography possession
Salling, who’s awaiting sentencing on his guilty plea, looked like a shell of his former self on the outing, as he sported a short-cropped hairdo and a beard with a black long-sleeved shirt, navy blue Nike athletic pants and sandals.
Salling had a hangdog expression on his face amid his ongoing troubles, after admitting to the court in his plea deal that authorities retrieved massive quantities of child porn from his home in a December 2015 raid.
Law enforcement in the raid found more than 50,000 images of child pornography on a laptop, with another 4,000 images and 160 videos on a flash drive, according to the plea deal.
The actor was originally facing a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars after being charged with two counts of child pornography last year.
Going away: The actor will face a prison sentence of four-to-seven years, per his plea deal
Tough times: The Glee star looked unkempt and unhappy on the daytime outing
After being released from prison, he is banned from coming within 100 feet of schoolyards, parks, public swimming pools, playgrounds and video arcade venues; cannot communicate verbally or electronically with any person under 18 without their parent or guardian present; and will also have to enter a sex offender treatment program as part of the plea deal.
The agreement also states that Salling has been ordered to pay ‘approximately $50,000’ restitution to each victim who has requested it.
According to the court documents – first obtained by The Blast – Salling ‘downloaded thousands of images of child pornography’ between April and December 2015.
Moving forward: Salling’s plea deal marks the latest chapter in the actor’s ongoing legal troubles
Long road ahead: Salling will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison
Headed out: The TV actor went to his vehicle with a bag full of food getting ready to depart
The papers state he used software to mask his IP address, but twice showed some of his collection to an adult woman, who ultimately reported him to police.
Following the tip-off, Salling was arrested in December 2015 at his home in Sunland, California, where police found a cache of explicit images on his computer depicting children as young as 10 in sexual situations. They later discovered more than 50,000 photos and videos on his laptop and another 4,000 on a flash drive
Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Andrea Grossman described some of the lewd images depicting grade school-aged girls as ‘disturbing,’ the New York Daily News reported.
Guilty: The plea agreement obtained by Dailymail.com is signed by the 35-year-old actor
Precautions: After being released from prison he is banned from coming within 100 feet of schoolyards, parks, public swimming pools, playgrounds and video arcade venues
Deal: The document states that Salling has been ordered to pay ‘approximately $50,000’ restitution to each victim who has requested it
On page 12 of the document is a detailed description of the material found in Salling’s possession in 2015
Sources who spoke with TMZ in December said police were ‘100 percent’ certain they would find child pornography in Salling’s home based on a tip they had received from his ex-girlfriend and additional evidence.
The allegations were first reported by Crime Watch Daily, who said police used battering rams to get into the house because Salling refused to let them in to the home. His computer and other electronic devices were reportedly seized by cops after Salling refused to tell them his password.
According to records, the house raided by the LAPD belongs to Jonathan Hernandez, who had been Salling’s roommate as far back as 2011.
Salling was arrested in December 2015 after a tip-off, and police later found thousands of images on his computer depicting children as young as 10 in sexual situations
Salling (pictured in character on Glee) must register as a sex offender and after serving his time he will be on 20 years of supervised release
Star: Salling shot to fame playing Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman in the hit FOX series Glee