Folk singer is fined £2,600 and found guilty of child labour offences after letting his four-year-old son join him on stage in Germany
- Angelo Kelly, 39, brought his son youngest son William on stage for 2019 concert
- William sang Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ during open-air show
- Court said his performance is ‘considered work by Youth Labor Protection Act’
- Kelly said he will appeal verdict and said William was not ‘obliged’ to appear
A folk singer has been fined £2,600 and found guilty of child labour offences after letting his four-year-old son join him on stage in Germany.
Angelo Kelly, 39, brought his youngest son William on stage to sing a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World during an open-air summer concert in 2019.
The court said William – the youngest of Kelly’s five children – going on stage is ‘considered work by the Youth Labor Protection Act’.
Angelo Kelly, 39, brought his son youngest son William (third from left) on stage to sing a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World during an open-air summer concert in 2019
The court said William – the youngest of Kelly’s five children – going on stage is ‘considered work by the Youth Labor Protection Act’. Pictured: The Kelly family
Irish-American folk singer Kelly – who is popular in Germany – told his fans he will appeal the verdict and said William was not ‘obliged’ to appear during the show and if he did, it was ‘because he wanted to’.
The Hassfurt administrative court in Bavaria found that ‘during this performance, the child William stood for at least 30 minutes on the stage where he played along, sang along and interpreted his own song’.
Kelly was slapped with a 3000 euro (£2,600) fine for the appearance which breached the Youth Labor Protection Act.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘As a father, the well-being of my children is the most important thing for me.
‘William was and is never obliged to appear with us at our shows. If he did it, it was because he wanted to.’
Irish-American folk singer Kelly (pictured) – who is popular in Germany – told his fans he will appeal the verdict and said William was not ‘obliged’ to appear during the show and if he did, it was ‘because he wanted to’
The Hassfurt administrative court in Bavaria found that ‘during this performance, the child William (pictured being carried in 2018) stood for at least 30 minutes on the stage where he played along, sang along and interpreted his own song’
Children aged three to six can take part in musical performances under German law for up to two hours a day, but only with official approval.
They must also only perform between the hours of 8am and 5pm.
William, who is now 5, appeared on stage until 8.20pm, according to authorities.
Kelly’s attorney Julian Ackermann blasted the ruling, saying that interpreting a ‘brief appearance on the stage in the presence of one’s mother and siblings at a concert given by one’s own father’ as child labor was legally wrong and ‘far removed from the facts.’