Atlantic City’s mayor and his wife were indicted in the alleged beatings of their daughter

ATLANTIC CITY — Marty Small Sr., the mayor of Atlantic City, and his wife, La’Quetta Small, the superintendent of schools, were indicted on charges of endangering the welfare of their teenage daughter, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.

Marty Small was also charged with third-degree terroristic threats and third-degree aggravated assault.

The charges stem from “multiple occasions” in December and January when “the defendants physically and emotionally abused their 15/16-year-old daughter,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

In one incident, on Jan. 13, the mayor is alleged to have hit his daughter in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness. Another incident involved him punching his daughter repeatedly in her legs, leaving her bruised, prosecutors said.

Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Marty Small said: “This is a family matter that turned political that went public. It has nothing to do with my job. That’s that. Now it’s our turn to put our side out.”

Ed Jacobs, his attorney, reiterated that the charges have nothing to do with Small’s official duties. In a phone call, he said: “The indictment against Mayor Small does not allege any type of official corruption, any misconduct within the mayor’s office or City Hall. It doesn’t allege any public offenses.”

He contended that the charges concerned a “disagreement” in a “private domestic matter,” something the county prosecutor typically would not get involved in.

“The Atlantic County prosecutor is second-guessing how this mom and dad choose to raise one of their teenaged kids,” Jacobs said.

“Neither the mayor nor his wife have done anything wrong and will be exonerated,” he said. No arraignment date has been set.

The Smalls were previously charged in the alleged abuse and waived a pre-indictment court appearance. In New Jersey criminal procedure, an indictment follows the initial charges before cases go to trial. The entire family appeared at a news conference earlier this year to address rumors after their house was searched by law enforcement. Marty and La’Quetta Small were charged two weeks later.

» READ MORE: Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. addresses child abuse allegations: ‘It doesn’t change my commitment’

Also indicted in a related case is the principal of Atlantic City High School, Constance Days-Chapman, 39. Days-Chapman is a family friend of the Smalls’, whom their daughter is alleged to have told that she was “suffering from continuous headaches due to being hit by her parents at home,” according to a statement from prosecutors.

Days-Chapman was indicted Sept. 11 on charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and hindering apprehension. The prosecutor alleged that Days-Chapman failed to notify the Department of Child Protection and Permanency or law enforcement authorities as required by statute and school policy when a student discloses alleged child abuse.

Days-Chapman is alleged to have gone to the Smalls’ home and told them of their daughter’s allegations.

In the terroristic threats charges, the prosecutor alleges that Marty Small threatened to hurt his daughter by “earth slamming” her down the stairs, grabbing her head, throwing her to the ground, and “smacking the weave out of her head.”

The prosecutor alleged that La’Quetta Small punched her daughter “multiple times on her chest leaving bruising.” Another incident alleged that La’Quetta Small dragged her daughter by her hair, then struck her with a belt on her shoulders, leaving marks.

During the news conference this spring, Marty Small stressed that the incidents were “family problems” that had nothing to do with his job, and that there were no allegations of corruption or official misconduct. His wife remains superintendent of schools.