Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife are accused of assaulting their teenage daughter

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, schools superintendent La’Quetta Small, have been charged with assaulting their daughter, including an incident in which the mayor allegedly knocked the teenager unconscious with a broom, Atlantic County prosecutors announced Monday.

Marty Small, 50, and La’Quetta Small, 47, are alleged to have physically and emotionally abused the 16-year-old “on multiple occasions” in December and January.

The allegations come two weeks after Small and his attorney held a news conference telling media and the public that prosecutors had been investigating Small for several months over a “family issue.” Small and his attorney said there was no corruption in the Atlantic City mayor’s office — an issue that has plagued previous mayoral administrations.

In one incident, prosecutors said in a statement Monday, the mayor allegedly struck his daughter in the head multiple times with a broom, leaving her unconscious.

Prosecutors also alleged that on another occasion, Marty Small threatened to hurt his daughter by “earth slamming” her down the stairs before throwing the teen to the ground.

Marty Small is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and terroristic threats. La’Quetta Small is charged with three counts of simple assault, according to the Atlantic County prosecutor’s office.

The Atlantic City mayor’s office and Small’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Small posted a video of himself on Instagram Monday lifting weights in a gym, captioned “Gettin it in.”

The mayor told reporters during the April 1 news conference that prosecutors were investigating him over an allegation that “confirms I’m human.” Small described the early-morning raid on his home and vehicles, in which armed prosecutor’s office investigators executed search warrants, seizing laptops and cell phones.

Flanked by his family and attorney Ed Jacobs, the mayor said it was an “egregious rumor” that he had beaten his daughter while she was pregnant with twins and would be “charged double murder” for ending the pregnancy.

Atlantic County prosecutors have, however, accused the mayor of several instances of physical abuse.

During the incident in which Small allegedly threatened to throw his daughter down the stairs, the mayor is accused of “grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head.”

“Another incident involved Marty Small Sr. punching his daughter repeatedly in her legs, causing bruising,” prosecutors said.

La’Quetta Small, meanwhile, “punched her daughter multiple times on her chest leaving bruising,” prosecutors said.

In a second incident, La’Quetta Small “dragged her daughter by her hair then struck her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks,” and in another, punched the teenager in the mouth.

La’Quetta Small is the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, where the principal of Atlantic City High School was arrested on March 28 on accusations of failing to make a report to a state child welfare agency about an allegation of child abuse.

During the news conference, Jacobs did not respond to questions about whether the student who reported the abuse was the mayor’s daughter.

The attorney told the Associated Press that the mayor’s daughter has not been removed from their home.

“This is an intact family,” Jacobs said. “She is right where she belongs.”

The principal, Constance Day-Chapman, has ties to the mayor. Day-Chapman served as Small’s campaign manager during his 2021 reelection campaign, and is chair of the Atlantic City Democratic Committee.

Prosecutors alleged that Day-Chapman reported the abuse allegation to the student’s parents, instead of the New Jersey department that she was supposed to contact.

Marty Small, a Democrat, took office in 2019 after former Mayor Frank Gilliam — the fourth Atlantic City mayor since 1981 to face charges — resigned and pleaded guilty to wire fraud.