Silvio Berlusconi's legal woes continue, as a key witness in a sex-for-money trial against him told a court that dancers dressed as nuns and President Barack Obama at the former Italian premier's notorious "bunga bunga" party.
Karima El Mahroug, better known as "Ruby the heartstealer", had appeared in a Milan court today as a witness in the trial against talent scout Lele Mora, television anchor Emilio Fede and former showgirl and regional councilor Nicole Minetti, Reuters reports, all of whom are accused of organizing prostitutes for Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties.
It was the first time Mahroug has testified in court.
While Mahroug, now 21-years-old, wasn't testifying against Berlusconi, and she repeated her denial of ever sleeping with Berlusconi, other comments in the court today were damning.
The Morroco-born dancer confirmed previous rumors that Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties had featured girls dressed up as nuns, and that Dominican-native showgirl Marysthell Polanco dressed up "as Obama" at one party.
Mahroug also said she saw 20 girls stripping for Berlusconi, then still the Prime Minister of Italy.
This flies in the face of how Berlusconi describes his "bunga bunga" parties — he has specifically denied the accusation that girls dressed up as nuns, and prefers to portray the parties as elegant soirees.
Mahroug is already a big problem for Berlusconi. The former Italian Prime Minister is accused of paying for sex with the dancer when she was just 17-years-old. Paying for sex with anyone under 18 is illegal in Italy (prostitution itself is not), and Mahroug is the center of a separate trial against Berlusconi.
The underage prostitution trial is just one of Berlusconi's current legal problems — an appeals court recently upheld tax fraud conviction against him and sentenced him to four years in prison.
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