Atlantic City Mayor, Superintendent Abused Teen Daughter: Prosecutor

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The mayor of Atlantic City and the Atlantic City School District superintendent have been charged with child endangerment and assault for repeated abuse of their teenage daughter, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.

Marty Small, Sr. and La'Quetta Small were both charged with endangering the welfare of a child on April 15, authorities said. Marty Small, Sr., Atlantic City's mayor, was additionally charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault and simple assault. La'Quetta Small, the superintendent of the school district, was charged with three separate counts of simple assault.

The charges stem from allegations of physical and emotional abuse against their 15/16-year-old daughter in the months of Dec. 2023 and Jan. 2024, authorities said.

In one incident, Marty Small, Sr. hit his daughter in the head with a broom multiple times, causing her to lose consciousness, according to authorities. In another, during an argument with his daughter, he continuously threatened 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, the prosecutor's office said. Yet another incident involved Marty Small, Sr. punching his daughter in the legs repeatedly and causing bruising, authorities said.

La'Quetta Small is accused of punching her daughter in the chest multiple times in one incident, causing bruising, authorities said. Another incident alleged that she dragged her daughter by the hair, then struck her on the shoulders with a belt, leaving marks, according to authorities. La'Quetta Small also punched her daughter in the mouth during an argument, authorities said.

It was just two weeks ago that the Smalls' residence was searched by county prosecutors, who were executing five search warrants. At the time, Marty Small, Jr. said it was a personal matter and not a crime being investigated, according to an Associated Press report.

That search was a few hours after the prosecutor's office announced charges against Constance Days-Chapman, Atlantic City High School principal, for failing to properly report child abuse. The charges stemmed from an underage student disclosing emotional and physical abuse by their parents, which Days-Chapman did not report to authorities, the prosecutor's office previously said. Read more: Atlantic City High School Principal Didn't Report Child Abuse: Cops

Though it's not clear if these incidents are connected, Marty Small, Sr. defended Days-Chapman in a previous press conference, saying that she "has done nothing wrong," the Associated Press reported.

Aside from being a close friend of the Small family, Days-Chapman is the president of Atlantic City's Democratic Committee and lead the mayor's reelection campaign in 2021.