John Riley

USA TODAY

A convicted sexual predator is now a rich man after winning $3 million on a Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket.

Timothy Poole, 43, purchased the ticket Saturday night at a convenience store in Mount Dora, near Orlando, TV station WKMG reports.

Poole was arrested in 1999 on a charge of sexually battering a 9-year-old boy, a member of a family whose home he had once lived in, the TV station reported. Poole denied the charges but eventually pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and was sentenced to the 13 months he had already served in jail.

Poole is listed as a sexual predator on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website.

A judge revoked Poole's probation in 2003 after he failed to show up for counseling sessions. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released in 2006, WKMG reported.

"It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused," Poole told WKMG in November.

A friend told the TV station he was with Poole when he learned he had won.

"He was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe it," Floyd Snyder said.

Contributing: The Associated Press