Mark Salling enters not guilty plea in child porn case

Actor Mark Salling has been granted bail after pleading not guilty to child pornography charges.

The 33-year-old, who played Noah 'Puck' Puckerman on hit TV series Glee, was arraigned on Friday (03Jun16) afternoon after turning himself in to Los Angeles federal authorities earlier in the day.

Facing a two-count indictment, Salling's lawyers entered a not guilty plea before Magistrate Judge Rozella Oliver on charges he sought out and was caught in possession of sexually inappropriate still images and videos of young children.

According to TMZ, Judge Oliver ruled Salling could be released after he posted $150,000 bail, but major restrictions have been imposed on him as part of his bail conditions, with the magistrate ordering Salling to stay at least 100 yards away from anywhere children congregate, such as parks or schools. He also cannot be left alone with a child, must wear a GPS monitoring device at all times, inform federal officials whenever he uses the Internet, hand his passport over to the court, and use no drugs of any sort, including medical marijuana, which is legal in the state of California.

During the hearing, Salling was grilled by Judge Oliver, and after answering several questions, he insisted he would obey all the conditions of his release.

Before the arraignment took place, Salling’s attorney, Dmitry Gorin refused to offer up details on the legal team's defense strategy, telling Crime Watch Daily the world will "see it all in court".

"We hope the media give Mr. Salling a chance to deal with the case in court," Gorin added.

The ex-Glee star's trial is expected to commence sometime this summer (16), according to Attorney spokesperson Thom Mrozek.

Salling was originally arrested in December (15) after police enforced a raid on his Sunland, California following a tip-off. Law enforcement officials allegedly uncovered and seized "thousands" of lewd images featuring minors. If convicted of the charges against him, Salling faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.