Cops: $338M Powerball Winner Sexually Assaulted a Child

Pedro Quezada could get 20 years in prison
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 21, 2017 1:03 AM CDT
Powerball Winner Charged With Sexually Assaulting Child
Pedro Quezada.   (Passaic County Prosecutor's Office)

A New Jersey man who won a $338 million Powerball jackpot was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a child. Pedro Quezada was charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, the AP reports. Passaic County prosecutor Camelia Valdes said the child was between 11 and 14 years old when the assaults occurred. Police believe the girl was the only victim, PIX 11 reports. Quezada, 49, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Quezada, who moved to the US from the Dominican Republic about 30 years ago, worked 15-hour days at his bodega in Passaic before winning the lottery in 2013.

"My life has changed," the father of five said at a press conference when he was announced as the winner. "It will not change my heart." He took a $152 million lump sum payment after taxes. Quezada, of Wayne, became embroiled in legal matters after his big win. He was accused of reneging on a promise to pay the rent of all his neighbors on his block in the days after he won the jackpot. He also was sued by a contractor who claimed he didn't pay for renovations to a home he bought in Clifton. (After the win, authorities said he had $29,000 in unpaid child support payments going back to 2009.)

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