SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 4 – A woman
named Victoria Drake on September 3 filed a lawsuit
against Paolo Zampolli in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York, where Inner City Press
found it. It is SDNY Case Number 26-cv-7582.
Inner City Press first reported it on the evening of
September 3, and put the Complaint on its DocumentCloud here.
Before alleging a rape, the Complaint
recounts that Zampolli "invited Plaintiff, her friend, and
two junior United Nations Ambassadors to his townhome
[address omitted by Inner City Press].
Inner City Press first
reported on and asked about Paolo Zampolli at the UN,
including as Deputy Permanent Representative of Dominica.
On July 3, 2018 Inner City Press was thrown
out of the UN by the Security of UNSG Antonio
Guterres as it asked questions, and has remained banned
since. It has applied,
on July 25, 2026, to enter to cover the upcoming UNGA week
this month - no answer. Likewise, no answer by UN
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric to its e-questions
about Zampolli.
As now "Special Envoy of the President of
the US for Global Partnerships" Zampolli has tweeted on X,
"congratulations to my dear friend, querido António—His
Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the
United Nations—on the opening of UNGA. It is incredible to
look back and realize how long this journey at the UN has
been, stretching back to 2008" - when Inner City Press
first reported on Zampolli, here.
congratulations to my dear friend, querido António—His Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations—on the opening of the 80th session of the UN GA It is incredible to look back and realize how long this journey at the UNhas been, stretching back to 2008. pic.twitter.com/NCE1RBC5Ky
— Paolo Zampolli (@AMBZAMPOLLI) September 23, 2025
After the incident, the Complaint
described the Plaintiff trying to leave the townhome but
says she "ended up on a floor she did not recognize.
There, she saw Defendant ZAMPOLLI's son playing video
games, and realized she was back in Defendant Zampolli's
townhome."
The complaint cites the Gender Motivated
Violence Protection Act, Administrative Code of the City
of New York Section 8-904 and was filed at 9 pm on
September 3, 2026 by a law firm at 45 Broadway in lower
Manhattan.
Inner City Press, which also reports
on the UN, will follow this case and is open to comment
from either party, or others.
The case is Drake v. Zampolli,
1:26-cv-7582 (Unassigned)
