Florida Sex Offender Who Won Lottery Gets Sued By Alleged Victims
Florida Sex Offender Who Won Lottery Gets Sued By Alleged Victims
A Florida registered sex offender who won a $3 million lottery is now being sued by two of his alleged victims, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The two male plaintiffs, who are the alleged sexual abuse victims of Timothy Poole, filed a lawsuit last Monday against Poole seeking damages for pain and suffering.
Poole, 43, received a lump sum of nearly $2.2 million after he cashed in his winning Super Millions scratch-off game in early December. Florida law does not prohibit sex offenders from playing the lottery.
According to the Orange County Circuit Court lawsuit, the plaintiffs, who are brothers, were ages 5 and 9 when Poole began the abuse that lasted for over a year, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
But Poole was only charged with abusing a 9-year-old boy. In 1999 he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery on a child younger than 12 and was sentenced to time served, the Associated Press reported.
He registered as a sex offender in Mount Dora, Florida, and was placed on probation but it was revoked in 2003 because he failed to show up for counseling, the AP reported.
"We are not attempting to get him any additional prison time," Mark NeJame, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, told the Orlando Sentinel "He has served his time to society, but he has not served his dues for the alleged massive damage caused to these children."
The lawyers are also asking the court to freeze Poole's winnings pending the lawsuit's results out of concern he may "squander hide or otherwise dispose of assets," reads the lawsuit obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
Poole, who is reportedly now in West Virginia, has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit. The newspaper could not reach Poole for comment.
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The lawyers are also asking the court to freeze Poole's winnings pending the lawsuit's results out of concern he may "squander hide or otherwise dispose of assets," reads the lawsuit obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
I could be wrong but I think the statute of limitations deadline has passed. Too bad.
Civil Lawsuits
In Florida, the filing of a civil claim dealing with sexual abuse or incest must be commenced at any time within:
The last provision deals with the "delayed discovery rule." Florida is one of several states to have a delayed discovery rule, which effectively indefinitely extends the statute of limitations. This may seem peculiar, but the legislature, taking into account the unique nature of sexual abuse, the stigma associated with it, and the likelihood of repressedmemories, decided not to allows the statute of limitations not to run until the victim "either knows or reasonably should know of the wrongful act giving rise to the cause of action." This means that adults who discover that they were abused long ago have 4 years from such a discovery to file a claim, regardless of their age .
yep.