Convicted sex offender wins $3 million Florida Lottery jackpot
Dec 11, 2014, 4:42 PM
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One Florida man recently won the jackpot with a lottery ticket, but there was a downside to his victory: He had to show his face in public to claim the prize.
What’s so bad about that, you ask? The winner, Timothy Poole, is a registered sexual predator.
ABC reports Poole won $3 million with a Florida lottery scratch-off ticket. He showed up to claim his prize and took a photo with a large check.
The lottery winner’s mug shot has been on Florida’s sex offender registry for 12 years.
Back in 1999 deputies arrested Poole after a friend of the family claimed Poole had molested the boy since he was nine years old.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit the child “said Tim would sleep in the same bed as him” and “sometimes Tim would wake him up from sleeping to perform a sex act.”
Poole denied the allegations, but later he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and spent nearly three years in prison.
Poole’s friend, Floyd Snyder, refuses to believe allegations that Poole molested a child.
“It’s Christmas time and the dude deserves a break,” Snyder told ABC.
Recently, Orlando station Local 6 found Poole has been employed as a cab driver at his mother’s taxi business.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the Florida Lottery took down its photo of Poole from its website after learning about his history.
So Poole may be able to upgrade his residence with his new earnings, but there’s no guarantees those neighbors are going to appreciate his presence.
Florida has no laws prohibiting sex offenders from playing the lottery and collecting winnings. Additionally, the state lottery cannot withhold winnings based on a person’s criminal record.
