$338M Powerball Winner Arrested on Assault Charges

Pedro Quezada (Police photo)

A man who won a $338 million Powerball jackpot was arrested for allegedly assaulting a young girl, officials said on Wednesday.

Pedro Quezada, 49, who won the jackpot in 2013, made headlines around the world. He previously owned a bodega in New Jersey.

He’s now accused of assaulting a girl who was between 11 and 14 years old when the incidents occurred, Passiac County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes told CBS News.

Valdes said that there are not any other victims.

He was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Quezada could face as many as 40 years in prison. He'll also be required to register as a sex offender.

When he won in 2013, Quezada took a lump sum of $152 million after taxes.

“My life has changed,” he said at the time. “It will not change my heart.”

“I felt pure joy, just happiness,” he added.

But eight months after he won, his former girlfriend took him to court for not sharing the money, according to NJ.com. The suit was later dropped and the two agreed on a settlement. He was also accused of not promising to pay the rent of all the neighbors on his block---which he said he would do.

His landlord in Passaic, NJ, then claimed that he skipped town without paying more than $7,000 in rent that he owed.

“It doesn’t get any lower than that,” ex-landlord Kujtim Sulejamni told the Daily Mail.

“He promised the whole street, but he never followed through,” his former neighbor Serafim Ariza was quoted as saying.

Quezada’s lawyer, Steven Wukovits, speaking outside the courtroom, told The Record his client was being targeted.

“He has money,” Wukovits said. “That’s why he’s being targeted in this case.”