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Folk singer Peter Yarrow has been accused in a new lawsuit of raping an underage girl in a Manhattan hotel room in 1969. The accusations were lodged against Yarrow, the founding member of legendary ’60s trio Peter, Paul and Mary, in a Wednesday Manhattan Supreme Court suit that was brought under the Child Victims Act. Before the alleged rape, Yarrow met his accuser, who was a fan of his music, several times at his band’s performances, the suit says. He then “took an interest in her,” acting what in what the minor thought was “paternal way,” according to the suit.

FULL TITLE: Singer's 'indecent liberties' with 14-year-old girl -- pardoned by Jimmy Carter -- get him nixed from folk music festival An 81-year-old member of the 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary has been disinvited from a music festival to be held in upstate New York this fall over his 1970 jail sentence for taking “indecent liberties” with a 14-year-old girl, the festival board announced Tuesday. Peter Yarrow -- whose offense was later pardoned by former President Jimmy Carter -- was removed from the lineup at the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival. The board announced its decision Tuesday, citing negative...

Observations about the vital role that music played at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, in the civil rights movement and even on social and political life in the U.S. could fill books, far more than there was room to address in Wednesday’s Page A-1 story on protest music. Here are a few additional thoughts that, though not included in that report, are eminently worth sharing. Noel Paul Stookey reunited Wednesday morning with his former Peter, Paul and Mary group mate Peter Yarrow in Washington to reprise their appearance at the march 50 years ago. “If...

(CNN) -- A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to California's lieutenant governor pleaded guilty to a child porn charge in a San Diego federal court Monday. Wade Rowland Sanders admitted to having 600 images of minors on his computer, including a video depicting "several prepubescent females engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male and performing oral sex on one another," according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt. FBI agents raided Sanders' home last May after they suspected his home Internet service account was used to download several pictures and...

The state Republican Party has launched a television ad attacking state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi for mishandling the collapse of the Executive Life Insurance Co. The ad targeting Garamendi, a Democrat running against Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, for lieutenant governor, began running Aug. 28 in the Sacramento and Los Angeles media markets. (snip) ANALYSIS: The GOP advertisement attempts to weaken Garamendi, a former gubernatorial candidate and statewide officeholder, by exploiting what is perhaps his greatest political vulnerability. Garamendi has long been dogged by criticism for allegedly mishandling the collapse of the Executive Life Insurance Co. In 1991,...

The San Francisco Chronicle Blog "broke" the story and now the Associate Press is now running with it: Mel Gibson wrote a fundraising letter for Tom McClintock. Gasp! And McClintock stopped using it earlier this year. Uh, gasp? No gasp? Nothing? Meaningless? Well, if Gibson writing a fundraising letter for McClintock carries any weight of significance, then surely it is significant to point out that John Garamendi, McClintock's opponent in the race for Lt. Governor, benefited from a fundraising letter written by Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Yarrow, you may or (probably) may not recall, was convicted...

The San Francisco Chronicle Blog "broke" the story and the Associated Press is now running with it: Mel Gibson wrote a fundraising letter for Tom McClintock. Gasp! And McClintock stopped using it earlier this year. Uh, gasp? No gasp? Nothing? Meaningless? Well, if Gibson writing a fundraising letter for McClintock carries any weight or significance, then surely it is significant to point out that John Garamendi, McClintock's opponent in the race for Lt. Governor, benefited from a fundraising letter written by Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Yarrow, you may or (probably) may not recall, was convicted of...

Disgraced former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham brazenly breached ethics and the law in his latter years in the U.S. House of Representatives, but he still has defenders who say he also was a force for good. In sometimes poignant and heart-rending accounts, more than 40 people wrote letters of support for Cunningham, who is scheduled to be sentenced March 3 after pleading guilty to bribery, tax evasion and other charges. The authors include family members, clergy, former political colleagues and military veterans who served with Cunningham during his 20-year career as a highly decorated Navy fighter pilot. A surprising contributor...

It's been 30 years since the last bombs fell during the Vietnam War, and longtime peace activist Peter Yarrow says it's about time that America apologizes. The singer-songwriter from the 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary has grown gray, but his passion to fight for those affected by the war remains fervent. During his first trip to Vietnam this week, he told The Associated Press that the war wounds of the United States won't heal until the nation makes amends — a process he believes should involve helping Vietnamese suffering from the ill health effects of Agent Orange, a...

"Yarrow pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a 14-year-old girl...According to media reports, the girl and her 17-year-old sister went to Yarrow's hotel room seeking an autograph, and the musician answered the door naked and..." "an impromptu 35-minute jam session on the back of the Kerry bus Sunday night with just the candidate, a few aides and the press in attendance. Yarrow strummed his guitar and sang such classics as "Lemon Tree," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and "Secret Survivor." For a moment, one could feel what it was like back in the '60s, hanging with a...

A momentous event occured last week and while it was mentioned here, I didn't see the analysis that it warranted.Ultra-left wing, leftie Congressman Martin Frost is running for reelection from Texas in a new district, one created by the corrective redistricting urged by American patriot and bipartisan champion, Texas Congressman Tom DeLay. Frost had been in a district, mostly black, that delivered him left wing votes every two years. He chose to move to a new district and is now running where blacks votes will be few and honest Republicans are many. He is desperate!! He is trying to look...

DALLAS (September 30, 2004 07:45 PM EDT) - Democratic Rep. Martin Frost on Thursday offered to refund contributions to an October fund-raiser after canceling the appearance of Peter Yarrow over the folk singer's 1970 child indecency conviction. Yarrow, a member of the group Peter, Paul and Mary, was convicted of "taking indecent liberties" with a 14-year-old girl in 1969. President Carter pardoned him in 1981.Frost said in a statement that "crimes against children are very serious offenses. ... I do not believe it is appropriate for Mr. Yarrow to campaign on my behalf." Frost, who faces Republican Rep. Pete Sessions...

Frost drops folk singer with criminal past from fund-raiser 10:04 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning NewsU.S. Rep. Martin Frost is canceling a fund-raising appearance by Peter, Paul and Mary member Peter Yarrow because the entertainer pleaded guilty to molesting a 14-year-old girl more than 34 years ago. The fund-raising event, slated for Oct. 11, will go on as scheduled without Mr. Yarrow's participation, campaign spokesman Justin Kitsch said. But the Frost campaign said it had no immediate plans to refund money to donors who have purchased tickets – ranging from $250...

John Kerry on Campaign trail with ex convict statutory Rapist By Donald Iarussi Wednesday, March 10, 2004 Can you only imagine if GW Bush were seen on the campaign trail with a man who hads ex con who had sex with a 14 year old girl? Can you only imagine if GW Bush were seen on the campaign trail with a major supporter who served time for trying to have sex with a 14 year old girl? John Kerry has been surging in the polls and has been critical of Howard Dean’s assistant possibly being guilty of domestic violence...

John Kerry on Campaign trail with ex convict statutory Rapist By Donald Iarussi Thursday, February 12, 2004 Can you only imagine if GW Bush were seen on the campaign trail with a man who hads ex con who had sex with a 14 year old girl Can you only imagine if GW Bush were seen on the campaign trail with a man who had sex with a 14 year old girl John Kerry has been surging in the polls and has been critical of Howard Dean’s assistant possibly being guilty of domestic violence against his wife. Yet, Consider one other...

DES MOINES, Jan. 3 — Senator John Kerry reached into the past on Saturday with an endorsement — and a 10-minute song of tribute — from Peter Yarrow, a member of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. But the mini-celebrity moment took a turn when Mr. Yarrow, a peace activist since before the two men met protesting Vietnam, was asked if he was disturbed that Mr. Kerry voted in favor of war in Iraq. "Absolutely!" Mr. Yarrow shouted to a questioner, and he raised his hands to try to command the attention of reporters and Kerry supporters at the...