Clearly, what goes around doesn't come around, at least not for a 43-year-old Florida man convicted of child assault who snagged a $3 million windfall at the Florida Lottery.
Timothy Dale Poole of Lake County, Florida became an instant millionaire after purchasing a $20 Scratch-Off ticket from a 7-Eleven store in Mount Dora Saturday night. After claiming his winnings, which amount to $2,219,807.90, at the Tallahassee headquarters of the state lottery and having his picture published on the Florida Lottery website, others quickly recognized him as a registered sex offender.
After a bit of digging into his background, WKMG Local found out that Poole, who works as a cab driver for his mother's taxi company, was arrested in Orange County in 1999 on charges of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy. The victim, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, was the son of a friend of Poole's, who frequently stayed over at the victim's house during the weekends.
"He said Tim would sleep in the same bed as him at his house," says the affidavit. "He said sometimes Tim would wake him up from sleeping to (perform a sex act)."
Up to this day, Poole denies the allegations, but claims he entered a plea bargain and pleaded guilty of attempted sexual battery to reduce his punishment. Poole was sentenced to the 13 months of imprisonment he had already served and 10 years of sex offender probation. He was also ordered to be registered as a sexual predator.
Years later, Poole was sent back to jail after failing to attend four of his sex offender counseling sessions. Records at the Florida Department of Corrections show Poole served another three years in jail from 2003 to 2006. He has had no troubles with the law since then.
"It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused," he says.
Poole was first arrested in 1991 for pilfering off up to $20,000 worth of food stamps from Safeco, Inc., the insurance company where he worked as a security guard. Ten years later, he was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office for sexually assaulting a female child under 12 years old. All in all, Poole was arrested 12 times for various charges, ranging from check forgery to grand theft.
Of course, it's a mad world we live in. And sometimes, some people are actually wrongly accused. Floyd Snyder, a friend of Poole's, says he has never seen any indication of Poole's past run-ins with the law and that his friend deserves the $3 million big-time break.
"I've known him for years and I've never seen any inclination of anything like that with him," Snyder says. "He's a very positive person. Very kind. Giving. I think that's why he won. It's Christmas time and the dude deserves a break."
Still, 12 arrests can hardly be deemed all wrongful accusations, but the Florida Lottery cannot withhold winnings from a jackpot winner based on their 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," says Samantha Andrews, spokesperson of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The Florida Lottery has since taken down Poole's picture from its website once the photo became viral.
