Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, will stand trial in Milan this April. The charges? Sex with an underage prostitute. Karima el-Mahroug, dubbed Ruby the Heart Stealer, allegedly received 24 gifts from Berlusconi, with a worth totaling £200 000. That’s roughly 2 318 401 Rond here in South Africa. Yip, a number I can’t even say. Disgusting.

Berlusconi was indicted Tuesday on charges that he paid for sex with Ruby when she was just 17, as well as using his influence to cover it up.

The prime minister asked her to a private dinner at Arcore, last year and prosecutors claim that he met Ruby on 15 occasions while the pair allegedly exchanged 67 telephone calls and text messages.  She denies ever having sexual relations with Mr Berlusconi but said he gave her several gifts and €7,000 in cash because he felt sorry for her. Mr Berlusconi has always said he has never paid for sex.

Among these gifts of charity was a diamond Recarlo necklace worth R146,765, an array of diamond rings, earrings, bracelets and pendants. And let’s not forget the Versace designer shoes. Oh, and we should probably mention the two Rolex watches (worth R489 219 and R176 119 respectively), as well as a Dolce and Gabbana designer watch, “because I told him that I didn’t like the Rolex watches”.

This story came to a simmer last year when Ruby was arrested on a unrelated charge of theft. The Prime Minister used his influence to bail her out, claiming he was trying to avoid a diplomatic incident between Italy and Egypt, as Ruby is apparently also related to recently ousted Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.