Mark Salling’s child pornography case has been dismissed in the wake of his suicide.
The United States Attorney requested the dismissal earlier this week, which was then was granted by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright, The Blast reports.
“For good cause shown, it is hereby ordered that: The government’s motion to dismiss the indictment pursuant to Rule 48 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is granted. The indictment in the above referenced case is dismissed without prejudice,” the legal papers read.
The case was dismissed “without prejudice” and can be re-filed if prosecutors choose to do so.
Mark was facing four to seven years in jail after pleading guilty in December. He had accepted the plea deal in October and had also agreed to register as a sex offender and cough up $50,000 in restitution to each of his victims.
Because he committed suicide last month, Mark’s plea deal was incomplete and the judge is unable to order the victims receive their payment.
A similar legal situation took place after Aaron Hernandez committed suicide while in jail. Because he was in the process of appealing his case at the time, his murder conviction was tossed out.
