Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will be put on trial this April on charges he paid to have sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl and then tried to cover up his actions.
An Italian judge ruled Tuesday that there was no need for a preliminary hearing, and that the trial against Berlusconi will begin April 6.
For his part, Berlusconi has previously called the case a "farce" and said the accusations against him are "groundless."
Berlusconi did not immediately comment on the developments on Tuesday. Instead, he failed to appear at a scheduled press conference on immigration in Sicily and returned to Rome.
One of his lawyers, Piero Longo, told the Affaritaliani website that they "didn't expect anything different."
The trial will be heard by a panel of three female judges, who will be chosen via a random computer system.
Globe and Mail correspondent Eric Reguly said that Berlusconi has been put on trial on more than two dozen occasions since he was initially elected as Italian premier in 1994.
"They've all been about alleged corruption, tax evasion, that sort of thing. This is the first one that is of a sexual nature," Reguly told CTV's Canada AM in a telephone interview from Rome on Tuesday.
Italian prosecutors allege that Berlusconi paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl who is nicknamed Ruby.
Both Berlusconi and Ruby say they have not had sex with one another, though the 74-year-old premier says he gave the young woman 7,000 euros (US$9,550) when they first met.
In Italy, it is not illegal to pay for sex with a prostitute, though it becomes illegal if the sex worker is under the age of 18.
Prosecutors also allege that the Italian premier later used his influence to get the teenager out of jail when she was detained on unrelated theft charges.
Reguly said that Berlusconi has admitted calling the jail where Ruby was being held, which led to her release. However, he claims he was trying to avoid a diplomatic incident because he believed Ruby was a niece of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
If Berlusconi is convicted on a child prostitution charge, he could face a sentence of six months to three years in prison.
If he is convicted of abuse of influence, he could spend four to 12 years in prison.
Outside of the trial involving the sexual allegations, Berlusconi faces two other trials relating to the Mediaset media empire that has made him a billionaire.
In one trial, the Italian premier has been charged in a tax fraud case. In another, Berlusconi has been charged with bribery.
Another tax fraud case involving Berlusconi is due to head to a preliminary hearing next month.
Berlusconi has always denied any wrongdoing in his business life and he has said that the many cases launched against him are part of a political vendetta led by left-leaning prosecutors.
Despite the repeated trials he has faced, Berlusconi has always been acquitted or had cases against him dropped after the statute of limitations expired.
However, his latest problems could spell the end of his reign as Italians increasingly become fed up with their leader's behaviour. On Sunday, tens of thousands of women loudly demonstrated in cities across the country, saying his conduct was insulting to women.
And on Tuesday, opposition politicians repeated their calls for Berlusconi to step down.
"Leave the premiership, let us not be the laughing stock of the world," said Alessandro Maran of the leading opposition Democratic Party, "Free Italy."
With files from The Associated Press
