Crime & Safety
Atlantic City Mayor Indicted On Witness Tampering Charges In Abuse Case
Mayor Marty Small Sr. is accused of telling his daughter to "twist up" her story alleging abuse from him and lie about her injuries.
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Another indictment has come in for embattled Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. in a case alleging that he and his wife physically abused their teenage daughter, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
Small was indicted on witness tampering charges by a grand jury on Dec. 17, authorities announced Wednesday. The news came after Small gave his annual State of the City address Wednesday morning.
Authorities allege that Small told his daughter, age 16, to do him a favor and "twist up" a story she had previously told police while criminal charges were pending against him for abuse in Sept. 2024.
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Specifically, Small told his daughter to say she tripped and fell in her room when her head was injured, officials said. This is in reference to a Jan. 13, 2024 incident, where it is alleged that Small hit his daughter in the head with a broom repeatedly, causing her to lose consciousness.
Authorities say the abuse happened in December 2023 and January 2024. Small also is accused of threatening to hurt her by "earth slamming" her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head, during an argument on Jan. 3. In another incident, he is accused of punching her repeatedly in her legs causing bruising.
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La'Quetta Small, the mayor's wife and the superintendent of the Atlantic City School District, is accused of punching her daughter multiple times, leaving bruises on the girl's chest in one incident, and punching her in the mouth during an argument. La'Quetta Small also is accused of dragging her daughter by her hair then hitting her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks.
The Smalls were charged in the case in April, after someone reported the abuse to a child abuse hotline.
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