Atlantic City Mayor, Wife Charged After Allegedly Abused Teen Daughter

The mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and his wife were indicted Tuesday on charges related to the alleged abuse of their teenage daughter.

Prosecutors said the alleged abuse occurred between December 2023 and January 2023. Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La’Quetta Small, are accused of physically and emotionally abusing the girl “on multiple occasions” when she was 15 and 16, the Atlantic County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.

The mayor’s office referred questions to his attorney, Ed Jacobs. Jacobs did not immediately respond to NBC News’ questions, but has previously said the Smallses are “completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be exonerated,” according to NBC Philadelphia. Jacobs told the news station Wednesday that this is a private matter between the family and has nothing to do with the mayor’s misconduct.

In an alleged incident on Jan. 13, the mayor is accused of hitting his daughter “repeatedly in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness,” according to the press release. Prosecutors said another incident occurred on Jan. 3, when the mayor allegedly threatened his daughter during an argument.

Mayor Small, 50, allegedly told the girl he would throw her down the stairs, grab her head and throw her to the ground, before “pulling her braid out of her head,” the statement said. Prosecutors also accused him of “repeatedly punching his daughter in the legs, causing bruises” in another alleged incident.

The mayor’s wife, who is also superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, allegedly hit the girl multiple times.

“It is alleged that La’Quetta Small, in one incident, struck her daughter multiple times in the chest, leaving her with bruises. Another incident alleges that La’Quetta Small dragged her daughter by the hair and then struck her with a belt across the shoulders, leaving her with bruises,” prosecutors said in the news release. “Another incident alleges that La’Quetta Small struck her daughter in the mouth during an argument.”

The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The allegations surfaced after Small’s daughter told a high school employee that she had been hit with a broom and passed out, according to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC Philadelphia. The girl told the employee after students in a mental health class were given an “exit ticket” that contained faces representing “happy,” “sad” and “neutral.”

The girl circled the neutral face and allegedly wrote on the back “abuse” and that she “would like a counselor,” the complaint states.

The girl’s boyfriend provided investigators with video clips showing the Smalls’ daughter with scratches, swelling, bruises and hair loss, NBC Philadelphia reported. He told investigators he initially had a good relationship with the Smalls.

The girl’s medical records show she was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 16 for a head injury she suffered three days earlier, the news station reported. The teen reportedly told hospital staff she hit her head on a window while playing with her younger brother and passed out. Mayor Small was with her at the time and told the nurse the same story, according to NBC Philadelphia.