Berlusconi unaware of Moroccan belly dancer’s age, court finds

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi did pay for sex with then 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer Karima "Ruby" El Mahroug but he did not know she was underage at the time. Furthermore, even though he rang the Milan police station where Ruby was about to be arrested for theft, he did not threaten police officials.

Those were the two main findings contained in the judge’s reasonings, made public yesterday, in relation to the sensational July Milan appeals court ruling in which the media tycoon was acquitted of the charges of “abuse of office” and “involvement in underage prostitution” in the so-called “Rubygate” trial.

A year earlier, a Milan court had given Mr Berlusconi a seven-year sentence and a permanent ban from public life in the first hearing of the case.

After 20 years of battling with the Italian judiciary, Mr Berlusconi and his supporters had greeted that acquittal with inevitable satisfaction. Whether that satisfaction remains after reading yesterday's motivazioni (reasonings) remains a moot point.

For a start, the ruling states there was “certain proof . . . of prostitution at Arcore [Berlusconi villa] on the evenings when Karima El Mahroug was present”. For a second, it states Mr Berlusconi’s infamous “bunga, bunga” parties revolved around a “system of prostitution”, adding that there was proof of the “performance of sexual acts for a fee between the defendant and the minor”.

However, the appeals court ruled the public prosecutors had failed to supply convincing evidence that Mr Berlusconi knew Ruby was underage at the time of their encounters. Hence, Mr Berlusconi was not guilty of “involvement in underage prostitution”.

Likewise, the court threw out the abuse of office charge, saying there was no evidence he had threatened officials.