Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, wife La'Quetta Small plead not guilty to physically abusing daughter
The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Thursday in Mays Landing, New Jersey, on charges of physically and emotionally abusing their teenage daughter.
Mayor Marty Small and his wife, La'Quetta Small, were charged in April with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
The mayor was also charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault and disorderly persons simple assault.
La'Quetta Small, the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, was also charged with three separate counts of disorderly persons simple assault.
"Both are highly educated and successful professionals who are respected members of our community," Ed Jacobs, the attorney representing the mayor and his wife, said in a statement. "Marty is the mayor of Atlantic City, and La'Quetta is the superintendent of schools, so they, unfortunately, wear targets on their backs. Because to some investigators, the high profiles earned by Marty and La'Quetta present an opportunity for a headline-grabbing investigation, even if that means meddling into personal and private family matters, such as a mom and dad doing their best to manage the challenges of raising a teenage child."
Last month, after being indicted, Marty Small again said that he had no plans of resigning as Atlantic City's mayor.
Charging documents filed by Atlantic County prosecutors allege Small and his wife emotionally and physically abused their teen daughter between December 2023 and January 2024.
The complaint alleges in January, Small hit his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness.
The mayor also allegedly threatened his daughter in early January by repeatedly telling her he would "smack the weave out ya head" and "earth slam" her down the stairs, according to the complaint.
Small was first appointed mayor in 2019 after Frank Gilliam Jr. pleaded guilty to wire fraud and resigned. He was re-elected for a one-year term during a special election in 2020 and was then elected to a four-year term in November 2021.