A convicted sex offender who hit the jackpot is being sued by his alleged victims, reports CBS News.
There was an uproar earlier this month when Timothy Poole won $3 million from a Florida lottery scratch-off ticket.
The problem? Poole is a registered sex offender.
In 1999, he was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy. He ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery as part of a plea bargain and served 13 months in jail, according to CBS affiliate WKMG.
He was released on probation, which was revoked in 2003 after he ditched his mandatory counseling sessions. He was then sentenced to another three years in jail.
Though he is listed as a sexual predator on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website, the law does not allow the state to withhold payment based on a winner's criminal record.
That's the good news for Poole. The bad? There's no statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse under the age of 16.
Now two brothers, who were 9 and 5 years old respectively at the time of Poole's arrest, have filed a lawsuit against him in the wake of his lucky break.
Poole, now a taxi driver for a company owned by his mother, insists that he's innocent.
"It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused," he told WKMG.
"He's a very positive person. Very kind. Giving. I think that's why he won," Poole's friend Floyd Snyder also told the station. "It's Christmastime, and the dude deserves a break." ..Source.. by Tara Fowler
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