Daniel Snay, Convicted Sex Offender Who Won Lottery, Arrested On New Abuse Charges

3-17-2014 Massachusetts:

A convicted sex offender who won $10 million playing a scratch-off lottery game in 2008 has been arrested on child sex abuse charges.

Daniel Snay, 62, pleaded not guilty Monday at his arraignment. He is accused of sexually assaulting a boy over a span of several years, beginning when the child was only 10 years old, according to NBC10.

Snay was already a Level-3 sex offender with six convictions for indecent assault and battery when he scratched his way to $10 million from the Massachusetts state lottery in 2008, according to a Telegraph and Gazette story from that year. Snay won his prize, which pays out $500,000 a year over 20 years, on a $20 game ticket at a Cumberland Farms store in Hopedale.

Sex Offender Who Won the Lottery Sued by His Alleged Victims

12-29-2014 Florida:

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He was released on probation, which was revoked in 2003 after he ditched his mandatory counseling sessions.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.

$57M Mega Millions lottery winner is sex offender with criminal past

6-20-2008 Michigan:

Fred Topous, the Kent City man who just won $57 million in the Mega Millions lottery, is a registered sex offender with a criminal past.

A co-worker describes Topous as a man who turned his life around and would do anything for a friend.

Topous, 45, previously served time for larceny in Grand Traverse County. He's also been imprisoned on a weapons offense, unlawfully driving away in a vehicle, and forced-entry burglary. The burglary charge is from the 1980s.

He's also on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry for committing a criminal sexual assault with the intent to commit penetration. He registered in 1999, and is compliant.

Registered sex offender won $14m lottery

Feb-2007 Florida:

JENSEN BEACH -- Life has taken a startling turn for Edward R. Cowal. Florida lottery officials announced Monday that Cowal, who is a state registered sex offender, was the sole winner of the $14 million lottery drawing from Jan. 13.

Cowal, 47, whose name is on an eight-page record from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, elected to take a lump sum settlement of almost $8 million before taxes. He purchased the tickets at the Cumberland Farms Store at 10975 S. State Road A1A in Jensen Beach. ..Source..

Alaska sex offender wins lottery sponsored by abuse victims advocacy group

1-13-2009 Alaska:

Alec Ahsoak, 53, has mentioned giving some of the winnings to the charity

An advocacy group for sexual abuse victims that sponsored the biggest Alaska lottery of its kind will receive a fraction of the $350,000 (£240,300) claimed by the winner - an Anchorage, Alaska, man with multiple sex-abuse convictions.

The organisation, Standing Together Against Rape, is expected to receive between $2,000 and $20,000 once expenses are determined, an organiser of the lottery said yesterday.

Star, and its partner, Lucky Times Pull Tabs, hope Friday's drawing will be a springboard for future lotteries, which Lucky Times owner Abe Spicola said could one day raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the non-profit.

"We knew that this particular go-around, the margins were going to be a little slim," said Ginger George-Smith, events development coordinator for Star.

Still, Star could get an unexpected boost this time around from the winner himself, who has talked about donating $100,000 of his winnings to the charity, Spicola said.

UPDATE: Veteran Sex Offender's Dream Trip Cancelled

1-16-2015 Ohio:

The criminal past of a terminally ill veteran is coming back to haunt him.

We showed you how an organization was granting two brothers, both terminally ill, their final wish. Wednesday, Army and Navy veterans Roger and Greg Poston were granted a lifelong dream: an all expenses paid vacation to the Grand Canyon.

But the dark past of one of the brothers would soon come to light.

Gregory Poston went to prison in 2008 for gross sexual imposition of a juvenile. Prosecutors tell us the the girl was under the age of 13.

Wednesday that victim's family saw Poston on television for the first time in years. Randy Cramer is a family friend of the victim and spoke to us on their behalf.