Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who has dodged corruption trials and no-confidence votes with the skill of an Olympic athlete, faced a potentially fatal challenge to his power Tuesday when a judge ordered him to stand trial on prostitution and abuse of power charges.
Berlusconi is going on trial April 6 in Milan on charges that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and then tried to cover it up. Berlusconi has been in court for a number of business-related charges, but this is the first time the 74-year-old billionaire businessman is being tried for personal conduct.
The premier has called the accusations "groundless" and dismissed the case as a "farce," accusing prosecutors of seeking to oust him from power.
Judge Cristina Di Censo handed down the indictment with a terse statement that showed she believes there is sufficient evidence to subject Berlusconi to an immediate trial, as prosecutors had requested. The speeded-up procedure, which is ordered in cases of overwhelming evidence, skips a preliminary hearing.
The trial will be heard by a panel of three judges, all of them women, all picked at random.
There was no immediate comment from Berlusconi. He skipped a news conference in Sicily about immigration and did not talk to reporters upon arriving back home in Rome.
Berlusconi is going on trial April 6 in Milan on charges that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and then tried to cover it up. Berlusconi has been in court for a number of business-related charges, but this is the first time the 74-year-old billionaire businessman is being tried for personal conduct.
The premier has called the accusations "groundless" and dismissed the case as a "farce," accusing prosecutors of seeking to oust him from power.
Judge Cristina Di Censo handed down the indictment with a terse statement that showed she believes there is sufficient evidence to subject Berlusconi to an immediate trial, as prosecutors had requested. The speeded-up procedure, which is ordered in cases of overwhelming evidence, skips a preliminary hearing.
The trial will be heard by a panel of three judges, all of them women, all picked at random.
There was no immediate comment from Berlusconi. He skipped a news conference in Sicily about immigration and did not talk to reporters upon arriving back home in Rome.
Check out the chick and the pictures, lol