The woman who alleges Donald and Melania Trump’s matchmaker raped her is challenging how police handled her case, PunchUp reported in an exclusive on Wednesday.
Victoria Drake, 33, filed a complaint with New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board over the handling of her allegations against Paolo Zampolli, the president’s longtime friend and former special envoy.
Her attorney, Jesse Weinstein, told PunchUp they would continue legal efforts to examine “the decisions by both the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office not to arrest or criminally prosecute Mr. Zampolli after Ms. Drake’s prompt report of the assault.”
An Aug. 27 letter reviewed by PunchUp confirms the watchdog referred Drake’s complaint to the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau because it fell outside the board’s jurisdiction. Whether Internal Affairs opened an investigation remains unknown.
Drake’s September civil lawsuit alleges Zampolli drugged and raped her at his Manhattan townhouse in October 2023. She says she reported the alleged assault the next day and underwent hospital examinations.
Zampolli denies the allegations and has not been criminally charged or found liable.
The report follows questions about Zampolli’s Oct. 15 removal from the Trump administration that also reached the White House. Weinstein previously said the litigation would also seek answers about whether Drake’s lawsuit played a role in his departure. Zampolli maintained his departure was amicable.
Zampolli’s lawyer argues the lack of criminal proceedings supports his denial, an assessment PunchUp reported the NYPD has not confirmed.
But Drake’s attorney pushed back on that argument.
“The absence of criminal charges against Mr. Zampolli does not resolve the allegations against him,” Weinstein told PunchUp.
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