Ex-Italian Premier guilty in sex-for-hire case

Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby, told reporters on April 4, 2013 that she never had sex with ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, denying that she was a prostitute and insisted that prosecutors hear her side of the story. The former Prime Minister of Italy was accused of having paid for sex with el-Mahroug while she was a teen during the infamous "bunga-bunga" parties at his villa near Milan, and then trying to cover it up. Both deny sexual contact. The scandal broke in 2010 when it emerged that Berlusconi had intervened on el-Mahroug's behalf after she was accused of stealing 3,000 euros from a friend and was detained by Milan police. Berlusconi said he did so thinking she was a relative of Egypt's then-President Hosni Mubarak.

On June 24, 2013, a Milan court convicted Berlusconi of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and using his influence to try to cover it up. The 76-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison and barred from public office for life - a sentence that could mean the end of his two-decade political career. However, there are two more levels of appeal before the sentence would become final, a process that can take months.

This picture taken on November 13, 2010 in Milan shows a Moroccan girl Karima Keyek, nicknamed Ruby. Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on January 14, 2011 that Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is under investigation in a prostitution case involving then-17-year-old Karima Keyek. Corriere della Sera online reported that Berlusconi is suspected of abusing his power in trying to cover up his alleged encounters with the 17-year-old Moroccan. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE ARESU (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE ARESU/AFP/Getty Images)

This picture taken on November 13, 2010 in Milan shows Karima Keyek. Italian daily Corriere della Sera is repored on January 14, 20111 that Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is under investigation in a prostitution case involving a then-17-year-old Moroccan girl Karima Keyek, nicknamed Ruby. Corriere della Sera online reported that Berlusconi is suspected of abusing his power in trying to cover up his alleged encounters with the 17-year-old Moroccan. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE ARESU (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE ARESU/AFP/Getty Images)

ARCHIV: Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby, whose encounters with Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi are at the base of a prostitution probe which is rocking Italian politics, arrives for a television show in Milan, Italy (Foto vom 19.01.11). Dem italienischen Ministerpraesidenten Silvio Berlusconi droht ein Gerichtsverfahren wegen seiner mutmasslichen sexuellen Beziehung zu der minderjaehrigen Nachtklub-Taenzerin "Ruby" und Amtsmissbrauchs. Staatsanwalt Edmondo Bruti kuendigte am Dienstag an, er werde am (morgigen) Mittwoch einen entsprechenden Antrag beim Mailaender Gericht stellen. Bis dahin wolle er ausserdem entscheiden, ob Berlusconi gleichzeitig wegen beiden Vorwuerfen der Prozess gemacht werden soll. Berlusconi wird vorgeworfen, die damals 17-jaehrige "Ruby" aus Marokko fuer Sex bezahlt zu haben. (zu dapd-Text) Foto: Antonio Calanni/dapd

This picture taken on November 13, 2010 in Milan shows a Moroccan girl Karima Keyek, nicknamed Ruby. Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on January 14, 2011 that Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is under investigation in a prostitution case involving then-17-year-old Karima Keyek. Corriere della Sera online reported that Berlusconi is suspected of abusing his power in trying to cover up his alleged encounters with the 17-year-old Moroccan. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE ARESU (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE ARESU/AFP/Getty Images)

** RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP ** Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, center, is supported at the podium by his personal doctor Umberto Scapagnini, left, and by an unidentified man, as he slumped during an emotional speech to political supporters in Montecatini Terme, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006. After some 40 minutes of railing against Premier Romano Prodi's center-left government, Berlusconi, a 70-year-old media mogul who leads the conservative opposition, suddenly started speaking slowly, looked weak and told the crowd: "Emotion is getting the better of me. I ..." and then his voice trailed off, and he gripped the podium for support as he leaned back. About 30 minutes after he fell ill, Berlusconi walked out of the hall in Montecatini Terme, a spa town in northern Italy, to a waiting car. He looked pale as he waved to supporters of his Forza Italia party. (AP photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi)

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi smiles as he arrives at the Milan's city hall, Italy, Tuesday, March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)