A man who used his children as props in a kick-offs movie has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.
A judge in North Carolina decided on Monday to impose the mandatory minimum sentence for “Karate Kid,” a parody of the popular Japanese martial art that uses children as combatants.
The man who created the film, Michael S. Miller, pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse, according to a report by the News24 website.
Miller, 44, admitted to the allegations in court.
The judge ordered him to pay $1,000 to each of the three children and his victim, who was 12 at the time.
The child is being represented by a local attorney and the child victim’s mother was also given the case, according the report.
Miller told the judge that the movie was meant to parody the popular martial art of “karate.”
He said he used his own children in the movie because he was afraid of getting hurt in a fight.
Miller said he planned to appeal the judge’s decision.
The movie was based on the 1993 film “Sid & Marty: Superfly” and starred the likes of Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.
It was released in North America on March 23.
Miller was arrested in 2014 after police said he attacked his wife and child.
His wife had a seizure after a fight with him, and he allegedly hit her head on a wall and hit her with a hammer.