Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, 50, and his wife, Atlantic City’s superintendent of schools, La’Quetta Small, 47, disapproved of their teenage daughter’s boyfriend, who secretly recorded an incident of him allegedly physically and verbally assaulting the girl, “on multiple occasions” in December and January, over a video chat, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors.
Small and his wife LaQuetta, were charged Monday with child endangerment and assault regarding interactions in December and January with their daughter, who is now 16, which included an incident in which the mayor allegedly struck his daughter in the head multiple times with a broom, leaving her unconscious; and repeatedly punching her in the legs.
In one video chat, according to the filing, Small’s daughter showed her boyfriend the gray broom her father “used to beat her,” its handle bent.
Detectives allege an escalation of abuse in January, including an argument between Small and his daughter where the mayor “threw her into the shower, slammed her, and choked her.”
Her mother is accused of dragging her by her hair, punching her in the chest and face, and hitting her with a belt. Later that month, La’Quetta Small allegedly “put all her weight” on her daughter and “smacked her multiple times in the face,” according to the filing.
The allegations come two weeks after Small and his attorney held a news conference telling media and the public that prosecutors had been investigating Small for several months over a “family issue.”
At the press conference, Small directly denied claims he abused his daughter, as he instead said any allegations were fueled by 'political and racial' motivations.
"We don't have City of Atlantic City money in our house. I didn't steal anything," he said in the press conference. "No, we don't have drugs in our house. And we don't have guns."
"First of all, let me confirm an undisputed fact: My daughter is not pregnant," he continued. "My daughter has never been pregnant."
Addressing rumors that Small said came from an Atlantic City police officer, the mayor doubled up his denials that his "daughter got knocked up by a drug dealer in Stanley Homes village - false."
"My wife beat the bleep out of her, while my son recorded the whole thing, and I just stood there - false," he affirmed.
Small also addressed what he referred to as 'the most egregious' of the rumors - that his "daughter was pregnant with twins, and I beat the s*** out of her so bad that I killed the babies, and I'm gonna be charged with double murder."
"Now, would you be able to handle this like I'm handling it?", he concluded.
Small's daughter remained silent at the press conference.
“Mayor Small and Superintendent LaQuetta Small are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be vindicated,” their lawyer Ed Jacobs said in a statement Tuesday.
“These complaints focus exclusively on private family matters, basically attempting to second-guess parental decisions.”
Jacobs said the Smalls “remain a close and loving and intact family,” adding the mayor intends to continue serving in office.
Small’s attorney strongly confirmed the absence of corruption in the Atlantic City mayor’s office which has been an issue that has plagued previous mayoral administrations.
The mayor told reporters during the April 1 news conference that prosecutors were investigating him over an allegation that “confirms I’m human.” Small described the early-morning raid on his home and vehicles, in which armed prosecutor’s office investigators executed search warrants, seizing laptops and cell phones.
Prosecutors also alleged that on another occasion, Marty Small threatened to hurt his daughter by “earth slamming” her down the stairs before throwing the teen to the ground.
Photos from the boyfriend’s phone viewed by police allegedly detailed her injuries, including swelling, scratches, bruising, and hair loss.
After extracting video from an iPad, police found footage from Jan. 3 recorded during an argument between Small and his daughter, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states:
“She’s the problem!” the mayor allegedly yells.
"I'm scared," the girl whispers to her boyfriend over video during a Jan. 3 incident with her father.
"Don't make me hurt you," Small allegedly says, using the girl's name.
"Hurt me, that's all you do," she responds.
Later, the mayor tells the girl to sit down.
"Stop pushing me!" the girl says, according to the transcript.
"I'm telling you, you're going to do harm to yourself if you get in my space again," her father replies.
"You always harm me anyway," she says. "Hurt me."
It appears from the transcript that the mayor is trying to stop her from leaving for school.
"OK, tell them," he's quoted as saying. "I don't care. What they gonna do to me? What they gonna do to me?"
"Can you please move so I can go to school?" she responds. "Stop pushing me! You keep pushing me. Stop!"
"Sit down," the mayor allegedly says. "I'll smack that weave out ya head."
"Please stop pushing me in my chest," she says.
"I don't care where I put you at ... I'm going to earth slam her down the steps!" Small allegedly says. "Come past his line and I'm gonna grab you by the head and throw you on the ground.
"Nothing is gonna happen to me!" he allegedly adds.
According to the affidavit, the trouble apparently started Dec. 7, with what the girl describes "a minor situation ... got escalated to where they put hands on me."
Her father allegedly punched her in the legs while her mother had a knee on the girl's chest.
Until that point, her boyfriend told investigators that he had a good relationship with the mayor and superintendent. The mayor even got the teen a job.
However, things apparently went down hill quickly. The job was rescinded, the teen said in a livestream April 2, the day after the mayor's press conference about the raid.
"Got me fired from my job," the 17-year-old boy says. "Now I can't even get a job in the city, cuz."
The Smalls' daughter started having hardships at school as well, according to the affidavit.
She told a friend she got suspended "for defending myself (because) this girl came up to me popping sh*t."
"They are blaming (redacted) for it and it's not his fault," she adds, using her boyfriend's nickname.
The girl also admits sneaking her boyfriend into the house, and getting caught because her mother looked through her phone while she was sleeping.
"They told me to stop talking to him and I didn't want to because he is literally my safe person," she writes to a friend on Instagram. "I feel safe and comfortable and happy with him."
The boyfriend even ordered food the house when she had nothing to eat. But her mother threw it in the street, she stated.
Her parents took her phone, but she remained in contact with the boyfriend through a device the Smalls did not know about, the boy told investigators.
Marty Small is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and terroristic threats. La’Quetta Small is charged with three counts of simple assault, according to the Atlantic County prosecutor’s office.
The mayor told reporters during the April 1 news conference that prosecutors were investigating him over an allegation that “confirms I’m human.” Small described the early-morning raid on his home and vehicles, in which armed prosecutor’s office investigators executed search warrants, seizing laptops and cell phones.
Atlantic County prosecutors have, however, accused the mayor of several instances of physical abuse.
During the incident in which Small allegedly threatened to throw his daughter down the stairs, the mayor is accused of “grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head.”
“Another incident involved Marty Small Sr. punching his daughter repeatedly in her legs, causing bruising,” prosecutors said.
La’Quetta Small, meanwhile, “punched her daughter multiple times on her chest leaving bruising,” prosecutors said.
The affidavit states: The girl tells her mother to get off of her, it states.
“You still talking little girl!” Dr. Small allegedly says.
“Get off me,” the girl says. “You hit me.”
Dr. Small’s mother, Sharnice Frazier, then allegedly chimes in: “A little punch in the eye ain’t gonna stop her.”
“You punched me in the mouth,” the girl says. “Get off of me!”
“Who you telling to get off of you girl?” her mother responds. “You don’t run me. You don’t run me. And I’m gonna touch you whenever I wanna touch you.”
Where as the affidavit does not detail what was taken from the Smalls’ home during the raid; it does quote the beginning of a letter the girl wrote to her parents that was found in LaQuetta Small’s bedroom closet.
It was dated Dec. 21, 2023.
“Honestly, I’m going for peace,” the girl writes. “I keep disappointing you all, I’m just going to go. Must hate me for not being perfect. Getting called dumb, crazy, mental and sick hurts but that okay. I guess I’m the biggest disappointment for defending myself.”
The principal of Atlantic City High School was arrested on March 28 on accusations of failing to make a report to a state child welfare agency about an allegation of child abuse.
Prosecutors alleged that Day-Chapman reported the abuse allegation to the student’s parents, instead of the New Jersey department that she was supposed to contact.
The principal, Constance "Mandy" Days-Chapman has ties to the mayor. Day-Chapman served as Small’s campaign manager during his 2021 reelection campaign, and is chair of the Atlantic City Democratic Committee.
The affidavit states : “She also said she had talked to Principal Constance Days-Chapman “about some choices.”"
But Days-Chapman claimed she had not heard about the issues, and then said she would report the allegations to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
That report never came, DCPP said, according to the affidavit.
Days-Chapman was charged with official misconduct and other charges as a result. Donald Harris is currently serving as interim principal in her place.
However, Small defended the principal, referring to her by her nickname and noting that she is such a close friend that she is practically a member of his family.
“We stand with Mandy and Mandy stands with us,” Small said. “She has done nothing wrong. We have done nothing wrong.”
During the news conference, Jacobs did not respond to questions about whether the student who reported the abuse was the mayor’s daughter.
The attorney told the Associated Press that the mayor’s daughter has not been removed from their home.
“This is an intact family,” Jacobs said. “She is right where she belongs.”
Marty Small, a Democrat, took office in 2019 after former Mayor Frank Gilliam — the fourth Atlantic City mayor since 1981 to face charges — resigned and pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
WHERE TO FIND HELP FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there are groups that can help 24/7 at no cost. It’s not your fault. Help is available.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers help in 140+ languages. Call 800–799–7233 or text START to 88788. If you can’t call, there’s a live chat option.
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Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife are accused of assaulting their teenage daughter
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Atlantic City mayor, 50, and wife charged with abusing teen daughter
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