Actor Mark Salling, far right, appears in a 2009 episode...

Actor Mark Salling, far right, appears in a 2009 episode of "Glee" with actor Max Adler, center. Los Angeles police say they arrested Salling, 33, on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, on a charge of possession of child pornography. Credit: FOX / Mike Yarish

Actor Mark Salling, best known for his role as Noah “Puck” Puckerman on “Glee,” was released from police custody Tuesday afternoon after being arrested that morning on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate records show Salling, 33, was booked on a felony charge at 9:47 a.m. and held on $20,000 bail before his release at 2:26 p.m. He is due back in court Jan. 22.

Police assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force had arrested the actor at his home in Los Angeles’ Sunland neighborhood, said KCBS-TV. “Detectives served a search warrant at his home and then placed him under arrest for possession of child pornography,” LAPD Officer Jenny Houser told reporters.

The syndicated TV series “Crime Watch Daily” first reported the arrest. Billy Jensen, a correspondent for the show, told the CBS-owned news-radio station KNX-AM that police reportedly acted on a tip from a friend or “possibly a girlfriend of his,” adding, “As far as what they found, the number is in the hundreds of images. We haven’t heard anything about videos or anything like that.”

TMZ.com said that according to law-enforcement sources, images found on Salling’s computer were of children younger than midteens.

Jensen told KNX that in 2013, Salling was accused of forcible sex without a condom, which Salling denied. TMZ said the case was settled, without giving details. It was unclear if this was related to a more than $2.7 million settlement he paid an ex-girlfriend this March after allegedly knocking her to the ground during a dispute over a claimed sexual battery, according to documents obtained by People magazine.

A 23-week-old post on Salling’s Instagram account brought renewed interest from commentators Tuesday. “Clowning around with some kids at the gym I go to,” Salling captioned an image of himself taking a selfie with three boys, and a girl. “They mess with me while I’m drinking my coffee but they funny.”

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