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It has all the trappings of a trashy romance novel: a flamboyant billionaire media tycoon enthralled by a leggy Moroccan exotic dancer nicknamed "Ruby Heartbreaker."

But this is real life, and the sex scandal involving former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the dancer, Karima El Mahroug, has been a tabloid headline writer's dream.

The now-76-year-old Berlusconi is accused of having sex 13 times with El Mahroug in 2010 when she was 17, which normally wouldn't be a problem since the age of consent in Italy is 14. But sex with a prostitute under 18 is a crime there.

According to CNN, El Mahroug was expected to take the stand Monday in Berlusconi's trial on charges that he hired her for sex and later tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when she was accused of theft. But while Berlusconi has said that both allegations are attempts to smear him, members of his defense team declined to question El Mahroug when she appeared in court Monday, and they told her she could leave.

After El Mahroug left the courtroom, the prosecutor asked the court to use her testimony from the investigation period as evidence instead.

Berlusconi lawyer Nicolo Ghedini told reporters that his team decided not to interrogate El Mahroug because of worries that any responses or debate in court could cause tension during the hotly contested campaign leading up to Italy's national elections next month.