Premier paid for sex, trial is told

Silvio Berlusconi paid for sex during at least one party at his luxury villa outside Milan, a witness said at his trial yesterday.

Natascia Teatino said a friend named Aris she accompanied to one of the evenings had said she “received money for [sexual] relations with Berlusconi”.

Berlusconi, 75, is charged with paying for sex with Moroccan-born Karima El Mahroug in 2010, when she was 17, and then abusing his office by getting her freed from police custody after she had been arrested for theft.

Prosecutors say showgirls and starlets received cash and gifts for sex games at his Milan home. Berlusconi denies the charges.