Berlusconi Faces 'Bunga Bunga' Party Charges, Milan Judges Deliver Verdict

UPDATE: Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi received a seven year jail sentence, along with a lifetime ban from politics for having sex with an underage girl, then abusing his power in office to cover up his crime.

Berlusconi has been charged with paying a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sexual acts, then attempting a cover-up by making fake police calls when she was arrested for supposed theft.

Both Berlusconi and the teenage girl deny having sexual relations with one another.

These charges derive from wild mansion fetes the former premier threw at his villas near Milan-they're being called Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties. Prosecutors contend that Berlusconi paid young women to visit his abode and have sex with him while he was still in office. The former politician maintained that these soirees were elegant dinner parties.

76-year-old Berlusconi faces up to six years in jail, along with a lifetime ban from politics, according to the Associated Press. Although Berlusconi is not officially a politician in today's Italian government, he still remains an influence on certain party coalitions.

Berlusconi has not yet testified in the trial, nor has Karima el-Mahroug, or "Ruby"-the young woman at the focus of the case. She did not show up in court on a few occasions, which delayed the trial. Now, Berlusconi's defense team has removed her from the list of witnesses.

In a previous trial, Mahroug claimed that she went to around six parties at Berlusconi's mansion. At the end of each one, Berlusconi gave her an envelope filled with cash-around $3,900 dollars' worth. She then was given around 30,000 euros by Berlusconi's intermediary, which she said the former politician handed over for a beauty salon she once told him she wanted to open.

Mahroug also testified that Berlusconi's parties featured aspiring showgirls who dressed up as sexy nuns and nurses, performed strip acts and that one attendee wore a mask of President Barack Obama's face.

Three female judges began the decision process in the case around 9:45 a.m. local time. Berlusconi was not in court on Monday.