Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi Faces Trial for Underage Prostitution and Abuse of Influence

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial on charges that he paid a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex and then used his influence to cover it up, an offense that could see him barred permanently from public office. The trial will examine his relationship with Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan nightclub performer nicknamed Ruby Heart Stealer, who attended a party at his Milan mansion in February 2010 when she was 17.

Berlusconi, who owns Italy's biggest private broadcaster, referred to El Mahroug as a relative of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak when he phoned the police on her behalf, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told parliament in November. El Mahroug was released by police into the custody of Nicole Minetti, 25, a former showgirl and dental hygienist who was elected a regional representative for Berlusconi's People of Liberty party in March 2010. Prosecutors allege that Minetti helped secure young women for Berlusconi's parties.

Key Takeaways:

• Berlusconi, 74, faces trial for paying a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex and abusing his influence in 2010.
• The trial will examine his relationship with Karima El Mahroug, who attended a party at his Milan mansion in February 2010 when she was 17.
• Berlusconi referred to El Mahroug as a relative of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, despite her denial of any familial relationship.
• Nicole Minetti, a former showgirl and dental hygienist elected to Berlusconi's People of Liberty party, helped secure young women for Berlusconi's parties, according to prosecutors.
• Berlusconi denies having paid for sex, but El Mahroug claims to have received 7,000 euros ($9,000) from him the evening they met.
• The trial begins on April 6, with possible sentences ranging from six months to 12 years if convicted of the abuse of influence charge.
• If convicted and sentenced to more than five years, Berlusconi will be barred from ever again holding public office.

Statistics:

• Over 700 pages of wiretap conversations have been presented in court, detailing raucous behavior and sex-fueled parties attended by scantily clad women at Berlusconi's Milan mansion.
• Karima El Mahroug, the Moroccan nightclub performer, was 17 at the time of the alleged incident and is now 18.
• Nicole Minetti, the woman accused of helping secure young women for Berlusconi's parties, was 25 at the time of the alleged incident and is now unknown.
• The trial will be presided over by a three-woman panel of judges.
• The child prostitution charge carries a possible prison sentence of six months to three years.
• The abuse of influence charge, which experts say is more dangerous for Berlusconi, carries a possible sentence of four to 12 years.

Sources:

• The Associated Press
• The Washington Post
• Waterloo Region Record