Speaking on herGeorgie and Friendspodcast, Georgie Leahy recounted finding out that Salling had been arrested for possession of child pornography and then years later learning of his death.
Leahy said she tried to support Salling after his arrest because she knew people would avoid him after he was charged with — and later pleaded guilty to — possession of child pornography.
“I was there for him as much as I could,” Leahy said. “I wanted him to know that he has me.”
While their 2015 relationship was not very public, Leahy said that she believed Salling kept her “in the shadows” in order to “protect her.”
“There’s a few pictures of us online, but there’s really not much evidence [of our relationship],” she said, adding that she thought he was trying to “get well through me.”
Georgie Leahy and Mark Salling.Brian Ach/Getty Images; Angela Weiss/Getty Images
“It’s an addiction, it’s a sickness,” Leahy, who didn’t attend Salling’s funeral, said of his child pornography possession. “None of us can comprehend it, understand it.”
The actor’s death came just weeks before he was set to be sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography.
Mark Salling.Jason Kempin/Getty
Sallingpleaded guiltyto possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor in October 2017, two years after he was arrested in December 2015.
LAPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit obtained a search warrant for his home in Sunland that year, and federal investigators said they found more than 25,000 images and 600 videos depicting child pornography on computers and thumb drives that belonged to theGleestar.
The content depicted children as young as 3 years old being abused, according to court documents, PEOPLE previously reported.
Salling struck a plea deal in December 2017 and was expected to be sentenced to four to seven years in prison.
The case wasdismissedafter his death.
source: people.com
