Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Appeals court absolves former Italian premier in lurid sex case

Silvio Berlusconi

Associated Press

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, shown in this May 2014 file photo, was acquitted by an Italian appeals court in a case where he was alleged to have paid for sex with underage Moroccan prostitute Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby, and then used his influence to cover it up. The acquittal was announced Friday, July 18, 2014.

MILAN— An Italian appeals court on Friday acquitted former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in a sex-for-hire case, reversing a lower court conviction that had carried a seven-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban on holding political office.

The case has grabbed global attention, offering an unseemly peek into the 77-year-old three-time premier's private life with witness testimony revealing raunchy, sex-fueled bunga-bunga parties at his private villa attended by a bevy of aspiring showgirls.

The prosecution alleged that Berlusconi had paid for sex with underage Moroccan prostitute Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby, and then used his influence to cover it up.

Berlusconi denied the charges, saying the case was politically motivated by magistrates trying to drive him from power. Both he and el-Mahroug, who was 17 when she frequented the then-premier's villa, denied ever having had sex.

The acquittal was announced just as Berlusconi was leaving a facility for Alzheimer's patients where he is performing community service for a separate conviction on a tax fraud charge. That is the only case finalized against Berlusconi, who has faced dozens of trials, mostly for his business dealings.

Berlusconi issued a statement to supporters saying the verdict confirmed "what I have always said: that the vast majority of Italian magistrates do their work quietly, with admirable balance and rigor."

Berlusconi's defense lawyer, Franco Coppi, said the decision "goes beyond the rosiest predictions," adding that he would have been satisfied with an acquittal for lack of evidence. But the court went further, saying that no crimes had been committed.

While the court has 90 days to issue its reasoning, Coppi said the decision to acquit for paying an underage prostitute for sex could have been due to Berlusconi's testimony that he believed el-Mahroug was over 18, irrespective of whether he had sex with her.

The case may not end there, however. Prosecutors can challenge Friday's acquittal in Italy's highest criminal court, the Court of Cassation.

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