Convicted sex offender Timothy Poole wins $3 million from $20 Florida Lottery scratchcard

Poole, who is listed on a Florida Department of Law Enforcement website as a sexual predator, bought the winning ticket last weekend

Convicted sex offender Timothy Poole has reportedly won $3 million on the lottery (AP)

A convicted sex offender has won almost $3 million on a Florida Lottery scratch-card, it has been reported.

Timothy Poole, who is listed on a Florida Department of Law Enforcement website as a sexual predator, bought the winning ticket last weekend, Orlando television station WKMG reported.

According to the station, Poole was arrested in 1999 on a charge of the sexual battery of a nine-year-old boy.

Poole denied the allegations but pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and was sentenced to 13 months he had already served in jail.

According to reports, his probation was revoked in 2003 after he failed to show up for counselling sessions.

He was then sentenced to three years in prison before being released in 2006.

Poole has told WKMG he was wrongly accused.

He told the station in November: "It may be hard for some to believe, but sometimes people are wrongly accused."

Records show Poole is now a driver for taxi company Triangle Club, which is owned by his mother, NBC 33 News has reported.

He won the money after buying a $20 ticket from a store in Mount Dora, Florida.

There are no laws preventing those convicted of a crime from playing or winning the lottery, ABC News has reported.

Additional reporting by AP