Berlusconi: Sex probe against him is 'disgusting'

[February 09, 2011]  MILAN (AP) -- Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has called the sex probe targeting him "disgusting," saying it was aimed at damaging his government.

The premier spoke to reporters in Rome on Wednesday shortly after prosecutors in Milan filed a request for his indictment on charges he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then used his influence to try to cover it up.

Berlusconi said Wednesday the accusations against him are groundless and insisted the Milan prosecutors were violating the law by overstepping their jurisdiction.

His defense has insisted the case should be handled by a special tribunal set up to deal with alleged offenses committed by public officials.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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MILAN (AP) -- Italian prosecutors on Wednesday requested that Premier Silvio Berlusconi stand trial over accusations he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl, then used his influence to try to cover it up.

The prosecutors filed their request in Milan. A judge must now decide whether to accept the prosecutors' request and indict the 74-year-old leader, or dismiss it. In Italy, it's illegal to pay for sex with a woman under the age of 18.

Berlusconi has denied wrongdoing.

Dozens of his supporters rallied against the prosecution's decision, some waving Italian flags in a demonstration across the street from the Milan courthouse entrance.

In a surreal backdrop to the soap opera-like story, Berlusconi himself was giving a news conference in Rome on his plans to relaunch the Italian economy with great public works when word of the indictment request came down.

The prosecutors are seeking an immediate trial because they believe there is overwhelming evidence against the premier. The procedure allows prosecutors to skip the preliminary-hearing phase and go straight to court.

They allege that Berlusconi paid for sex with a Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby, who has since turned 18, then used his influence to get her out of police custody when she was detained for the suspected theft of euro3,000 ($4,103), allegedly fearing her relationship to him would be revealed.

Ruby ultimately was released into the custody of a Berlusconi aide who also is under investigation.

The premier's supporters say he made the call to avoid a diplomatic incident because Berlusconi believed at the time that the girl was the niece of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. His defense maintains the case should be handled not by the Milan prosecutors but by a special tribunal set up to deal with alleged offenses committed by public officials.

The prosecution said in a statement that they didn't believe the alleged crime was committed in the exercise of Berlusconi's institutional duties.

[Associated Press]

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