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Haßfurt (AP) - Ex-child star Angelo Kelly has trouble with the judiciary.
It is about the allegation of child labor.
Because his little son William was on stage with him in the evening, the 39-year-old singer has to answer in court.
The labor inspectorate of the government of Lower Franconia has imposed a fine of 5000 euros on the once youngest member of the Kelly Family, which was successful in the 1990s.
Because he filed an objection to the decision, it came to a hearing before the district court in Hassfurt, as a court spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
Several local media had previously reported on the case.
The background to the legal dispute is an appearance by Angelo Kelly & Family as part of the “Irish Summer Tour 2019” on July 26, 2019 at Eyrichshof Castle near Ebern in Lower Franconia.
Son William was four years old at the time and is said to have been on stage from 8 p.m. to 8:20 p.m., which, from the point of view of the authorities, means a violation of the Youth Labor Protection Act.
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According to media reports, it should not have been an isolated incident and Angelo Kelly has often been targeted by the authorities because of the appearance of his little son.
Hence the very high sum of 5000 euros.
A spokesman for the Haßfurt District Court confirmed that there were also proceedings elsewhere, but did not give any details.
"I would never do something that would endanger the well-being of my child," said Angelo Kelly of the "Bild" newspaper.
In the past few years, his family had always worked well with the youth authorities regarding the children's appearances, he emphasized.
At the request of the German Press Agency, he and his spokeswoman initially refused to comment.
Kelly's lawyer Julian Ackermann said the «image»: «It is about brief stage visits by William during his father's concerts in the presence of his mother and siblings.
William could always decide for himself whether he wanted to go on stage and whether he wanted to sing along or jam along on his children's guitar. "
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The legal basis for the dispute is the Youth Labor Protection Act.
This stipulates "that the employment of children (ie people under 15 years of age) is prohibited (...) and that official exemptions for children up to six years of age are possible for up to two hours a day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.", such as the district court announced.
From the point of view of the German Children's Fund, this regulation makes perfect sense: “The children's educational and leisure interests must not be restricted,” says managing director Holger Hofmann.
Angelo Kelly was a child star himself, and celebrated huge successes with the original Kelly family in the 1990s.
With blond angel curls and a voice as clear as a bell, he smacked the band's greatest success: "An Angel".
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In the meantime, the once youngest Kelly offspring is himself an extended family father and continues the musical family tradition.
With his wife Kira, for whom he wrote the hit “I can't help myself” at the age of 13, and their five children together, he recorded their first album together in 2018. Vox accompanied the family's life on the emigrant program “Goodbye Germany".
He himself remembered his time as a child star in an interview with the German Press Agency in 2017: “I didn't find it negative myself, nor as a Jackson Five or something.
Overall, I was very happy.
And when it got too much in the mid-90s, it also overwhelmed our father.
That was a tornado. "
His older brother Michael Patrick (“Paddy”) Kelly once told the dpa: “I was born in a camping car, I learned to sing and make music.
We didn't go to school, we traveled the world - and then the musical successes came, initially on the street, later in stadiums.
It wasn't a normal life. "
In the dispute over the appearance of his son, Angelo Kelly did not have to appear in court, as a spokesman announced.
A judgment was not issued on the first day of the hearing because, according to the court, his lawyer filed an application for bias against the judge who had previously not granted the request to reschedule the appointment.
A decision on the bias application is to be made at the beginning of next week, and a judgment is then planned for February 12.
"Unfortunately there is a lot of child labor in our country and there are very few controls," says the President of the Child Protection Association, Heinz Hilgers.
"The phenomenon is massive - also in Germany."
As a rule, however, the issue is disregarded because the labor inspectorate has too few staff.
"In this respect, it's a good thing that people at least look closely here."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210204-99-302682 / 3