Mark Wahlberg asks to meet with Boston man he beat: Daily Mail

Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg has reportedly offered to fly a Vietnamese man he assaulted in an apparently racially motivated attack 26 years ago fromBoston to Los Angeles so he can apologize in person.

The Daily Mail reported in an exclusive Friday that Wahlberg, who recently applied for a pardon to wipe his record after the 1988 assault, reached out to victim Johnny Trinhafter he said in media reports that he has forgiven Wahlberg.

News of the Dorchester native’s application for a pardon emerged last week; Wahlberg had filed it with the Massachusetts Board of Pardons in late November.

In the attack,Wahlberg, then 17, struck Trinh and another Vietnamese man while trying to make off with two cases of beer from a Dorchester Avenue store.

“He was young and reckless but I forgive him now,” Trinh said in an interview with The Daily Mail Thursday. “Everyone deserves another chance. I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer.”

Trinh’s21-year-old daughter Tammy told the publication, “We have been told that Mr. Wahlberg wants to apologise in person and has offered to fly us to Los Angeles. My father is meeting with his employer to see if he can get time off from work. It is very exciting.”

On Thursday, Metro spoke to the president of the Vietnamese American Community of Massachusetts, Binh Nguyen, who said Wahlberg had not reached out to the Vietnamese community. But Nam Pham, executive director of Dorchester-based nonprofit Vietaid said he supported a pardon.

Wahlbergreportedly wants a clean record so he can become a reserve police officer in Los Angeles. Wahlberg’s conviction prevents him from owning and using a gun.