Rapist who won a $8.9 million lottery prize while in prison has been granted full access to the winnings

• A convicted rapist bought a lottery ticket while on weekend leave from prison in 2004.
• He won the prize of £7.2m ($8.9), but his access to the money was limited.

A convicted rapist who won a £7.2m ($8.9) lottery prize has been granted full access to the winnings after a 15-year legal battle.

Iorworth Hoare, 70, purchased the winning ticket while on weekend leave from Leyhill prison in Gloucestershire, UK, in August 2004, British newspaper The Mirror reported.

Hoare, who had six previous convictions for counts including rape and attempted rape, was serving a life sentence for attempting to rape teacher, Shirley Woodman.

After he was freed from prison in 2005, he was not allowed full access to his lottery winnings due to the conditions of his release, and instead was believed to have received a monthly allowance of £8,666 ($10, 766), The Mirror said.

Hoare could only access the rest of the winnings with the consent of fund trustees, which consisted of a government official, his lawyer, and his accountant.

He launched legal proceedings to gain control of his fortune in 2008 and now has been granted full access to the money.

A Home Office source told The Mirror: "There was nothing legally which could be done to stop him in the end."

The family of Woodman, who died last year, urged Hoare to donate his winnings to charity, as she had done with damages he paid her.

"She gave all the money away to charity, and it's what he should be doing with his money. He can do good with that money – like my mum did," her daughter Shelley Wolfson told the Mirror.

After discovering that Hoare had won the lottery, Woodman fought for compensation, despite the six-year time limit to launch such claims had passed.

A judge ruled in her favor, and Hoare eventually had to pay £50,000 ($62,000) in damages and almost £800,000 ($993,000) in legal costs.