A man in Florida won a $3 million lottery scratch off jackpot this past weekend.
Which would otherwise be a good thing. Except the Florida man with the nice cash flow coming to him is a child molester.
Timothy Poole, 43, played the Super Millions scratch-off game that costs $20 a ticket and ended up walking away with a one-time lump sum payment of $2,219,807.90.
Not long after posing with his oversized check at the Florida Lottery Headquarters, Poole was recognized as a registered child molester. He has been arrested 12 times in the state of Florida on charges of sexual battery, grand theft, and forging a check. According to the Orlando Sentinel:
In 2001, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested Poole on charges of sexual battery on a victim under 12, records show. Before that, he was arrested in 1991 for stealing almost $20,000 in food stamps from Safeco Inc. of Ocala, where he worked as a guard.
Poole served three months in prison in 1996 and did a second stint from 2003 to 2006, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
After learning about his record, which includes Poole molesting two boys under the age of 12 in 2002, the Florida Lottery quickly took down the photos.
“We chose to not draw additional attention to this particular winner,” said Shelly Gerteisen, communications manager for the Florida Lottery.
Despite outcry from the public, there are no laws in Florida that prohibit registered sexual predators from playing the numbers and collecting winnings. The Florida Lottery cannot withhold earnings based on someone’s criminal record.
“There are no registration laws that would prevent that, but if that offender was under supervision or on probation there could be additional sanctions imposed by the judge,” said Samantha Andrews of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Poole, who allegedly works as a cab driver at his mother’s taxi company, could not be reached for comment following his lottery win.
SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel | PHOTO CREDIT: Screenshot
