BERLIN (AP) – A Bavarian court on Friday found a popular music singer guilty of violating strict German child labor laws for his 4-year-old son playing on stage with him during an evening concert.
Angelo Kelly, 39, was fined 3,000 euros ($ 3,600) by the Hassfurt administrative court for appearing in 2019 at an outdoor summer concert with his son William, who sang ” What a wonderful world. ” The boy is the youngest of Kelly’s five children.
“During this performance, the child William sat on the stage for at least 30 minutes in which he sang, sang and performed his own song,” the court said, according to the dpa news agency. “This is considered a work of the Law on Labor Protection for Young People.”
Kelly, who is popular in Germany, said on her Facebook page that she would appeal the verdict.
“As a father, the well-being of my children is the most important thing for me,” he wrote. “William has been and is never obliged to appear with us at our shows. If he did, it was because he wanted to. “
Children between the ages of 3 and 6 can participate in musical performances under German law for up to two hours a day, but only with the official approval of an exception and only between 8:00 and 17:00, reported dpa. William, who is now 5 years old, appeared on stage until 20:20, according to authorities.
Kelly’s lawyer, Julian Ackermann, dismissed the ruling, saying that the interpretation of a “brief appearance on stage in the presence of the mother and siblings at a concert held by his own father” as child labor was legally wrong and fact. ”