Milan model had sex with Berlusconi 'to thank him'

London, Jan 23 (ANI): For the first time, one of the women named in the Milan prostitution investigation has admitted that she had sex with the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Maria Ester Garcia Polanco is the first of the so-called "bunga bunga" girls - a group of 14 women whom Milan prosecutors allege had sex with Berlusconi - to admit publicly that she slept with him.

However, the model and aspiring showgirl, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, denied she did so in exchange for money.

Polanco said she had sexual relations with the 74-year-old billionaire out of gratitude because he had paid for urgent medical treatment for her five-year-old daughter and helped her find work as a television showgirl, including on a programme called 'The Hot Chick and the Dork'.

Her admission came in an interview in La Repubblica newspaper, where she was asked if she had ever had sexual relations with Berlusconi.

"Yes, but never in exchange for money. He was generous and kind," The Telegraph quoted her as saying.

Polanco said she had attended "five or six" parties at Berlusconi's estate at Arcore, outside Milan, but denied that the soirees degenerated into "orgies".

Her claim contradicts evidence amassed from hundreds of wire-tapped conversations between the women, Berlusconi and his inner circle, in which witnesses said starlets, actresses and models danced around poles and performed stripteases before being picked for sex with the prime minister.

"I don't know if the wire taps are true or not, but all that stuff about orgies and naked women, none of it is true. They were just normal parties and dinners," she said.

Polanco was among a group of women who were allegedly installed in rent-free accommodation by Berlusconi in an apartment complex on the outskirts of Milan. (ANI)