While those close to him are still reeling from news of his suicide, Mark Salling apparently left his victims high and dry in terms of seeking justice, because it appears they may never get the restitution payments that were due to them surrounding his child pornography case.
The former Glee actor was found dead in a relatively remote area on the north side of Los Angeles on Tuesday, the result of an apparent suicide.
Related: Mark Distanced Himself From Loved Ones Before His Suicide
And now, all the legal issues he went through — the child pornography arrest, the trial, the guilty plea, and what would have been the sentencing in March — all come to a screeching halt.
A source pretty much confirmed to Us Weekly the exact thing we reported earlier this morning about the legal issues behind a series of $50,000 payments Salling was supposed to have made to his victims for restitution, and it sure sounds like that’s not going to happen now after his suicide.
The source said (below):
“Restitution would be a part of his sentence. The amount of the restitution is determined by the sentencing judge ├óΓé¼┬ª He will not be sentenced. Therefore there will be no restitution order. Therefore I doubt that there is anything to take to civil court. Any restitution order would be allocated among multiple known victims.”
Even when you consider Salling’s estate left behind after his death, it sounds like because the sentencing itself didn’t take place before the suicide, it may be legally impossible to go back and impose a sentence after Salling’s death, since, well, there’d be no one to serve the punishment.
Salling was likely facing between four and seven years in prison, in addition to his restitution, because of his guilty plea.
Related: Former HGTV Star Arrested For Sexual Assault
The source continued (below):
“The amount allocated to each would be different based upon, for example, therapy expenses they have incurred. No such order has been entered. I am unclear as to how anyone feels that they could go into court to enforce an order which has not been entered. I’m not saying that there isn’t some lawyer out there willing to file suit on behalf of someone claiming to be a victim. But I am saying, that there is no order to be enforced, for $50,000 or any other amount on behalf of anyone.”
Wow.
Money isn’t everything, but it was to be another part of some sort of justice for those victimized by Salling — and now, it appears that won’t happen.
Of course, it turns out Salling does have some serious cash on hand that could be doled out… if victims want to go to court and fight for it on their own, without the help of the sentencing process that will now never happen.
Sad.
[Image via WENN.]
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