Mark Wahlberg's Request for Assault Pardon Dropped

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Mark Wahlberg’s request to be pardoned for an assault he committed as a teenager has officially been dropped, a spokesman for the Massachusetts parole board confirmed to ET.

“The Parole Board sent out letters in January asking for petitioners to indicate whether they were interested in keeping their petition open or not,” the spokesman said. “The letter requested a response within 90 days or the petition would be deemed administratively closed. The Parole Board did not receive a response from Mr. Wahlberg or a legal representative. The lack of response was effectively considered a withdrawal of the petition.”

The conviction stems from an incident in 1988 where a then-16-year-old Wahlberg was allegedly high and drunk and attempted to steal two cases of alcohol from a convenience store in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. During the alleged attempted theft, Wahlberg struck Johnny Trinh, an Asian-American man, in the head so badly that he was thought to have been blinded by the blow. The incident landed Wahlberg 45 days in jail.

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One person that had already pardoned Wahlberg was the victim of the attack, Trinh. While it was thought that the 59-year-old went blind in one eye due to being beat up by Wahlberg, Trinh told London's Daily Mail that he lost vision after fighting in the Vietnam War.

"I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer," he told the publication's website in 2014. "He paid for his crime when he went to prison. I am not saying that it did not hurt when he punched me in the face, but it was a long time ago."

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ET caught up with Wahlberg one month after he had first filed the petition back in 2014 at The Gambler premiere, where the two-time Oscar nominee told us that he’d been trying to rectify the crime since it happened.

"I've been working since the day I woke up sober and realized the mistake that I made to correct that mistake and it's been 27 years in the making," Wahlberg said.

The Deepwater Horizon actor received some backlash for the petition, with many alleging he was using his celebrity status to wipe his record clean. However, he strongly denied that claim to ET.

“I never tried to use my celebrity as a tool, I’m working to be the person I need to be - working hard every day to be a good husband, a good father, and a good role model to kids who are growing up in situations like mine.”

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While Wahlberg has not publicly spoken out yet since his pardon was dismissed, the 45-year-old husband and father of four will most likely not be deterred from his overall intentions.

“Regardless if I'm granted a pardon or not, I will continue to work every day to be a better person, that was the goal,” Wahlberg said.