ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (TND) — Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. on Thursday said he remains focused on his duties as an elected official — as well as a father — just a few days after he and his wife were accused of beating their teenage daughter.
In a news release, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said the mayor and his wife were both charged on Monday with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to prosecutors, the Smalls physically and emotionally abused their daughter — who is now 16 — on multiple occasions in December 2023 and January 2024.
Small, 50, was also charged with third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree aggravated assault, and disorderly persons simple assault, prosecutors said.
His wife, Dr. LaQuetta Small, 47, who is Atlantic City’s superintendent of schools 47, was additionally charged with three separate counts of disorderly persons simple assault.
Their attorney, Ed Jacobs, said his clients are innocent.
Mayor Small and Superintendent LaQuetta Small are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be vindicated,” Jacobs said in a statement Tuesday. “These complaints focus exclusively on private family matters, basically attempting to second-guess parental decisions.”
He said the Smalls “remain a close and loving and intact family,” adding the mayor intends to continue serving in office.
In an affidavit filed by prosecutors, the girl said she made up the accusations against her parents because she was upset they wouldn’t let her go out with friends.
But the affidavit also includes detailed claims by the girl that the abuse was real, and it said she photographed bruises she said were caused by her parents and sent the images to her boyfriend, who then shared them with detectives.
The office of Prosecutor William Reynolds cited evidence including recordings of interactions between the girl and her parents; her statements to police, school personnel, a therapist and state child welfare investigators, and messages she sent to friends asking for help, saying she did not feel safe at home.
The boyfriend secretly recorded an incident of Small allegedly physically and verbally assaulting the girl over a video chat, prosecutors said.
Several recordings involve an incident from Jan. 3 between Small and his daughter while she was talking to her boyfriend on a video chat.
“I’m scared,” the girl whispers to her boyfriend, according to the transcript.
Using the girl’s name, the mayor says, “Don’t make me hurt you.”
She replies, “Hurt me, that’s all you do!”
The release detailed the alleged abuse, noting Small was accused of hitting his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness.
In another incident, Small allegedly threatened to hurt his daughter by “earth slamming” her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave off her head. He also allegedly punched her in her legs, causing bruises.
The release also noted La’Quetta Small was accused of punching her daughter several times on her chest, also causing bruises. She allegedly dragged her daughter by her hair then hit her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks, as well as punched her in the mouth.
“These incidents were investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit,” according to the release.
Earlier this month, Small held a news conference in City Hall to say that a search of his home in late March involved “a private family issue,” not a crime.
Small said at the news conference that he and his wife have been interacting with state child welfare authorities and have nothing to hide.
“We’re going through family therapy, and that’s what this should be, a family matter,” he said.
The prosecutor’s office issued in response to the news conference, saying “the men and women of this office involved in the search conducted themselves in the highest professional manner,” also noting Small and his wife “were treated with dignity and respect during the entire process.”
“As an example, detectives took great effort to ensure that any juveniles living at the residence were clear of the residence and not present during the execution of the search warrant,” cccc said.
NBC 10 Philadelphia reported Small reiterated his innocence Thursday during a speech at the East Coast Gaming Congress at the Hard Rock casino.
“We’ve all seen news accounts of what’s going on with myself personally,” Small said, according to the media outlet. “It’s just that: personal. But I pledge to each and every one of you, it doesn’t change my commitment, number one, to my family, and it doesn’t change my commitment here to the great city of Atlantic City.”
In his online bio, the Democrat said he has two children. He also quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“The Ultimate Measure of a Man is not where he stands at moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of Challenge and Controversy,” Small wrote, quoting the late King.
Small has several campaign fundraisers lined up, both of which are advertised online. One is set for May 3, and another on May 9.
Less than a week later, he and his family are scheduled to appear in court on May 15.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
