Moroccan Karima El Mahroug is expected today to testify at the trial of Silvio Berlusconi in a Milan court. He is accused of having sexual relations with her when she was underage. The age of consent is 14, but having sex with a prostitute under 18 is a crime in Italy. This time, “the young lady will be present,” Paola Boccardi, her lawyer, told AFP.
It is the third time “Ruby Heartbreaker” is called to testify by the court. She did not attend previous hearings on December 10 and 17. On December 10, the judges instructed the police to find her. Subsequently, her lawyer announced that the young lady, now 20, was in Mexico. The court imposed a €500 fine for “unjustified absence.”
The prosecutor accuses Berlusconi’s defense of trying to delay the court proceedings. According to the press, Il Cavaliere fear of sentencing during the electoral campaign for the general elections on February 24 and 25, in the context of former Prime Minister launching the electoral battle, at the head of a center-right coalition with his partner, the North League.
Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini, known for her combativeness and as an enemy of Berlusconi’s, denounced the “maneuvers” of the defense of former prime minister, saying that former prime minister’s lawyers do not want to see Ruby testifying. According to the new timetable for the trial, the indictment is scheduled for January 28 and February 4 is for defense pleadings. Subsequently, another session will be set for the verdict. Berlusconi is on trial since April 2011 in Milan. He pressured the police for her release after she was arrested for theft in May 2010. The two deny they had sex.
In this case, Berlusconi, aged 76, declared himself the victim of a “gigantic smear campaign.” He admits that he gave money to Ruby, but, he argues, he did that in order to help her open a wellness center and avoid prostitution. While the stories of “Bunga Bunga” parties at the luxury villa in Arcore, near Milan in 2010 were on the first page of tabloids, Berlusconi said that the parties were “nothing illegal”, but only “elegant evenings”. He apologized, however, saying that he felt alone after the divorce and loss of his mother and sister.
“I’m 75, and even if I’m a bit mischievous, 33 girls in two months is too much even for someone who is 30,” said Berlusconi for La Republicca newspaper. He also said that he will marry Francesca Pascale, 27, “a girl who is beautiful on the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside.”
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