Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small charged with asking his daughter to lie about head injury

ATLANTIC CITY — Adding to previous charges of child endangerment, assault, and terroristic threats, prosecutors have now charged Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. with witness tampering for allegedly asking his daughter to lie about a head injury.

Believing an investigation or proceeding was imminent, prosecutors said, Small asked his daughter to “do him a favor” and “twist up” the story she had previously told police about alleged abuse allegations she made against him, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The charge, filed Monday, says Small interfered with the investigation on Sept. 15 “specifically by asking her to state that she tripped and fell in her room when her head was injured,” the affidavit states.

Two days later, Small and his wife, La’Quetta Small, who is the superintendent of Atlantic City schools, were indicted on charges related to the alleged abuse of their teenage daughter on multiple occasions. They pleaded not guilty on Oct. 10. Both have resisted calls to resign from their positions.

Gov. Phil Murphy, whose administration has control over city operations under a takeover agreement, has said Small should consider whether the charges interfere with his ability to do his job as mayor.

In one incident, prosecutors allege Marty Small 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. In another, they said, Small argued with his daughter, then grabbed her head and threw her to the ground, while threatening to throw her down the stairs.

Small referred comments to his attorney, Ed Jacobs, who said in a statement that the additional charge was “sheer nonsense.” Small confirmed that his daughter was still living at home with the family.

“When a parent encourages a child to be accurate and truthful in statements to investigators, that parent is not witness tampering; that parent is doing what a good responsible parent should do,” Jacobs said in the statement. “And that is precisely what Marty Small has done. This is one more effort by the prosecuting authority to second guess my client’s parenting and corrupt his relationship with his daughter.”

Marty Small is scheduled to appear in Atlantic County Superior Court on Dec. 3 on the witness-tampering charge. Both Marty and La’Quetta Small are due back in court Jan. 16 on the original charges.

During their arraignment, their son was briefly in the courtroom, and their daughter accompanied them but did not enter the courtroom, according to a family associate.

Also indicted in a related case is the principal of Atlantic City High School, Constance Days-Chapman, 39. Days-Chapman is a friend of the Smalls’. Their daughter is alleged to have told Days-Chapman 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.

In addition, Toria Young, a secretary at the high school, has been charged with also failing to report the alleged abuse.