Atlantic City Mayor and Wife Charged with Assaulting Their Daughter

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La’Quetta, who serves as the city’s superintendent of schools, have been indicted on charges related to child endangerment. This announcement was made by prosecutors on Wednesday, revealing that the couple allegedly physically and emotionally abused their teenage daughter on multiple occasions.

The charges were formally presented on Tuesday by a grand jury through the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. In addition to child endangerment, Mayor Marty Small is facing charges of assault and making terroristic threats.

According to prosecutors, the alleged incidents of abuse took place over several weeks, focusing on the period from December to January. The couple’s daughter, who was between 15 and 16 years old at the time, was reportedly subjected to repeated assaults.

In response to these allegations, Mayor Small expressed that the public has only heard one side of the story. He stated, “We look forward to telling our side,” emphasizing that their daughter continues to live at home with them.

Small’s attorney, Ed Jacobs, asserted that the case has nothing to do with the mayor’s duties or actions in office. He stated, “There’s no charge of corruption or any official misconduct. Marty and La’Quetta Small don’t need the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office meddling into a private family matter.”

Jacobs maintained that the couple are committed parents and insisted on their innocence, stating, “They are totally innocent and will be totally exonerated.”

The indictment outlines a serious allegation against Mayor Small, claiming that on January 13, 2024, he struck his daughter several times in the head with a broom, resulting in her losing consciousness. In another incident just ten days prior, prosecutors alleged that he had an argument with his daughter where he grabbed her by the head and threw her to the ground. During that altercation, he also allegedly threatened to throw her down a flight of stairs and to “smack the weave out” of her head.

The 50-year-old mayor is also accused of inflicting bruises on his daughter’s legs through repeated punches.

In turn, La’Quetta Small, aged 47, faces accusations of her own. Prosecutors allege that she punched her daughter multiple times in the chest, leaving bruising visible. Furthermore, she is claimed to have dragged the girl by her hair and struck her with a belt on her shoulders, marking her skin in the process. In yet another incident, La’Quetta is said to have punched her daughter in the mouth during a dispute.

The indictment of the Small family comes in the wake of another indictment involving Constance Days-Chapman, the principal of Atlantic City High School, who has been charged with official misconduct and child endangerment. It is alleged that she failed to report the abuse to the proper authorities despite being required to do so both by law and under school policy.

Days-Chapman is described as a close friend of the Smalls, making the situation more complex. Furthermore, the indictment mentions that the couple’s daughter, during the previous December, confided in Days-Chapman about ongoing physical abuse, stating she was suffering from continuous headaches as a result of the beatings she endured at home. Instead of alerting the authorities, Days-Chapman allegedly informed the Smalls.

The situation surrounding this case continues to unfold, with both parties expressing their perspectives and the legal ramifications yet to fully develop.

Source: AP News