Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi denied at his trial on Friday that he hosted raunchy parties, had sex with a 17-year-old prostitute or abused his powers by pressuring police officers.
Berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with Moroccan exotic dancer Karima El-Mahroug, better known by her stage name as “Ruby the Heart Stealer”. He is also charged with abusing his position as prime minister by telling police to release her when she was arrested for petty theft in May 2010.
“I never had an intimate relationship of any kind with her,” the 76-year-old told the court in only his second appearance at the trial in Milan which began last year and has heard from witnesses describing stripshows at his home. “I was sure she was 24, as she herself said,” said Berlusconi, who has kept a relatively low public profile since stepping down in November 2011 after dominating Italy’s political scene for much of the past two decades.
“I can exclude with absolute certainty that there were ever scenes of a sexual nature,” he said, referring to parties held at his villa near Milan.
“Everything happened in front of the staff and at times my children too came in to say hello,” said the billionaire, who has five children from two marriages which ended in divorce and often boasts of his playboy qualities.
A report in the Corriere della Sera daily said that the trial was “making him anxious, losing him sleep and spoiling his days.”
