Convicted Sex Offender Timothy Poole Wins $3 Million Lottery Jackpot in Florida

Despite Timothy Poole's conviction, he will be able to keep his winnings.

ByABC News
December 11, 2014, 7:28 AM

— -- A convicted sex offender won a $3 million lottery jackpot in Florida and will be able to keep his winnings.

Timothy Poole, 43, won the prize after buying a $20 ticket from a 7-Eleven store in Mount Dora, Florida.

Poole pleaded guilty in 2002 to attempted sexual battery involving two victims under the age of 12, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.

He was released from custody in 2006.

Poole, now working as a cab driver for his family’s taxi company, asserted his innocence in an October report by WKMG-TV, a CBS-affiliated station in Orlando.

“It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused,” Poole said in the October report.

There are no laws preventing anyone convicted of committing a crime from winning the lottery. The odds of winning a $3 million jackpot in the Super Millions scratch-off game are 1-in-1,680,000, according to Florida Lottery.