Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, Was Once Pardoned for a Pretty Disturbing Crime

Singer Peter Yarrow was best known for his time in the folk band Peter, Paul and Mary. He was responsible for their most famous song, which is about a magic dragon who lives by the sea. You may have heard of him. His name is Puff. While it was loved by people of all ages, it has a childlike quality to it that has endured since its release in 1963.

The song eventually made its way to a children's album the trio recorded in 1969, titled "Peter, Paul and Mommy." This further solidified them as a group loved by kids and adults alike. Unfortunately, Yarrow tapped into his young fanbase in an upsetting way. He used them to further his own disturbing proclivities, which briefly landed him in prison until he was pardoned by former president Jimmy Carter.

On Aug. 31, 1969, Barbara Winter and her sister were dropped off at a church where they lived in Washington, D.C., but they didn't stay for the services. According to The Washington Post, Winter's sister was president of Yarrow's Washington fan club, and he was in town for a series of concerts. Winter was barely 14, and her sister was a bit older, but the two didn't mind the walk to the hotel where Yarrow was staying.

When they arrived, they phoned Yarrow's room from the lobby and were invited upstairs. Once there, they discovered a fully nude Yarrow, who forced Winter to masturbate him until he ejaculated. The young girl later said her sister saw the whole thing, but she claimed to be in a different room when this happened. "It happened when I was just an innocent child," Winter told the outlet. "I didn’t know anything. I was just a little girl that liked to play with her friends."

Yarrow told her not to tell anyone except for a priest because the little girl was Catholic. She finally told a friend six months later, who must have shared this with Winter's parents because they sat her down and asked her what happened. He soon pleaded guilty to "immoral and improper liberties" with a child. He could have gotten up to 10 years but was given one to three, only to have that suspended except for three months. Yarrow was out in time for Thanksgiving 1970.

A little over a decade after Yarrow was released from his brief time in prison, President Jimmy Carter pardoned him in January 1981 on his last full day in office. He never gave a reason why. For Winter it was like getting "sucker-punched in the gut." She went on to get married twice and had two children from her first marriage. Winter and her second husband live on a rural property with a garden she loves tending. She prefers the company of animals to people.