Italian Court Indicts Berlusconi in Prostitution Scandal
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 - VOAAn Italian judge has ordered Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and abused his power.
The judge in Milan issued the indictment Tuesday, and said the trial is scheduled to begin April 6.
Prosecutors say Mr. Berlusconi paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl in his villa.
The 74-year-old prime minister denies the charge, and the young woman, who is now 18, says she never slept with him.
Mr. Berlusconi is also accused of using his influence to get the woman out of police custody after she was arrested on a theft charge.
Prostitution is legal in Italy, but sex with girls younger than 18 is not.
Hundreds of thousands of women marched across Italy Sunday demanding Mr. Berlusconi resign over the allegations. He has also been accused of hosting parties at his home with large numbers of young girls as his guests.
Mr. Berlusconi has said all the charges against him are politically driven.
He has been on trial numerous times on separate corruption charges. His guilty verdicts were overturned or the cases were tossed out during the notoriously slow appeals process.
Italian Court Indicts Berlusconi in Prostitution Scandal
Article from VOA
No comments:
Post a Comment