Convicted sex offender wins $3 million lottery

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Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Timothy Poole, a convicted sex offender, won $3 million off of a Florida Lottery scratch ticket he bought over the weekend.
creativeContent-Florida Lottery / Florida Department of Law Enforcement

A convicted sex offender won a multi-million dollar jackpot from the Florida Lottery over the past weekend.

Timothy Poole, 43, of Mount Dora, Florida won $3 million from a scratch-off ticket he purchased at a 7-Eleven over the weekend, according to the New York Daily News. Poole, who currently works as a cab driver for his mother's taxi company, was arrested in 1999 after allegedly sexually battering a 9-year-old boy.

Poole denied the allegations and went to jail for 13 months. Poole was sent to prison in 2003 again after not attending four of his sex offender counseling sessions. Poole has had no run ins with the law since his release in 2006.

Poole claimed his winnings this week in a lump sum payment that totals $2,219,807.90. A Florida Lottery spokesperson told the New York Daily News that payments are not withheld based on a winner's criminal background. However, if a lottery winner does owe money to a state agency, such as child support, then it can be withheld.