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Italian PM SIlvio Berlusconi has denied all accusations of paying an underage girl for sex as "groundless". Photo by EPA/BGNES
Prosecutors have formally asked for an immediate trial of Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi for alleged sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power.
The application has been filed by Milan Chief Prosecutor Edmundo Bruti Liberati. The judge Cristina di Censo will have five days to make a decision on how to proceed, CNN reported on Wednesday.
She can accept the request and give a start to the fast-track trial, or dismiss it and allow investigators to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial.
Both Berlusconi, aged 74, and Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan nightclub dancer known by her stage name "Ruby", have denied the prostitution allegations. The prime minister also denied abusing his power and calling a Milan police station for the release of El Mahroug, then aged 17, who has been detained on charges of theft.
On Wednesday, Berlusconi dismissed the accusations as "groundless" and said that the trial was a "farce".
"I am sorry because these allegations have offended the dignity of the country. They've thrown mud on the government, on the country and on myself at an international level," he said.
Prosecutors have stated that Berlusconi was having sex with the girl from February until May 2010.
El Mahroug has denied the accusations. She said she did not know the prime minister very well but that she received a gift of EUR 7000 from him the first time they met, on February 14, 2010, because a friend had told Berlusconi that she needed help.
However, Ruby's former roommate has stated that the girl confined to her about having sex with the prime minister.
The investigation on the case began December 2010. Last month, the prosecutors asked for permission to search Berlusconi's offices that were used by Giuseppe Spinelli, one of his accountants.
Spinelli is suspected of paying young women with cash, jewelry or rent for apartments on behalf of the Italian PM for allegedly providing services, including prostitution.
At the end of January, another 17-year-old girl, known to the police as a prostitute, was named at participating in the alleged sex parties, organized by Berlusconi.
According to the Italian legislation, using the services of prostitutes is not a crime, but paying an underage girl for sex is offense.
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