Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will be put on trial this April as he had charges laid against him regarding him paying a 17 year old Moroccan girl to essentially have an affair with him. Not only did he commit to prostitution, but he also tried to cover it up in the end. Globe and Mail correspondent Eric Reguly pointed out that Berlusconi has been put on trial for many times on more than two dozen separate occasions ever since he was elected as the Italian Premier in 1994. Reguly also said that all the past occasions have either been alleged corruption, tax evasion, or things of that sort, and that it is the first time that Berlusconi was charged for something of a sexual nature. Both Berlusconi and the 17 year Moroccan girl, Ruby, say that they did not have sex with one another, but only that the premier gave the girl 7000 euros upon meeting her. The fact that Berlusconi paid for prostitution is not illegal in Italy, the only reason that he was able to be charged and put on trial was because the girl was under 18. For this issue, the premier can be convicted and sent into prison for any amount of time ranging from 6 months to a potential 12 years.
I do believe that Berlusconi should go to jail for this, as although prostitution is legal in Italy, I still believe that it isn't technically "right" and acceptable to do so. The fact that the girl was under 18 made this issue much more serious, and thus he is facing trial. This matter is also very serious since he is not only known to everybody, but he is the Premier of Italy, and this is a very embarrassing situation for all Italians seeing and hearing about this. Although Berlusconi and the girl did not have sex together, I still believe he should be sent to prison to preserve justice in the law, since it was also found that he used his influence to get the girl out of jail due to theft charges.
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