Atlantic City, N.J., mayor, school superintendent wife indicted for alleged child abuse

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The mayor of Atlantic City is now the latest elected official in a string of others from the New Jersey beachside gambling destination to face legal charges, but this time with his wife, who also is a public official, prosecutors said.

On Tuesday, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, La'Quetta Small, were indicted by a grand jury on charges of child abuse, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Wednesday.

The mayor, 50, and his wife, 47, are the parents of two, and have been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child-- their teenage daughter.

A court date has yet to be scheduled. The Smalls' indictment followed previous charges against them earlier this year.

According to the county prosecutor's office, the mayor and La'Quetta Small physically assaulted their daughter, who was 15 to 16 years old at the time the alleged abuse took place.

Small Sr. also received charges or terroristic threats and aggravated assault. The alleged abuse took place between December and January.

Local prosecutors say at one point the mayor "smack[ed] the weave out of her head."

According to prosecutors, in one incident this year in January the mayor allegedly beat his daughter in her head with a broom until she lost consciousness. In another, it is alleged Small Sr. gave threats to "earth slam" his daughter down the stairs.

His lawyer claimed Small will be vindicated and rejected calls for the mayor to resign.

"The indictment against a mayor small has nothing to do with the City of Atlantic City," Jacobs told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.

La'Quetta Small, who began working for the Atlantic City Public School District in 2003, became the school district's superintendent January 2022.

Prosecutors alleged La'Quetta Small punched her teen daughter "multiple times on her chest leaving bruising" and beat her with a belt. In another instance prosecutors say she punched her daughter in the mouth.

According to the district website , La'Quetta is the first Black female in that job and was the first Atlantic City resident to be its school district superintendent.

In a case related to the Smalls' case, last week an indictment was handed down to Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman for official misconduct and child endangerment.

Days-Chapman allegedly knew and failed to notify child welfare officials of the alleged abuse against the Smalls' daughter. Reports say she worked on the mayor's re-election campaign.

Despite the current mayor's commitment to remain on the job, Atlantic City has a long history of mayors with criminal pasts including indictments and prison time.

Small Sr.'s predecessor, Frank Gilliam, pleaded guilty to stealing $87,000 from a youth basketball program he founded and later resigned in October 2019.

Small, who lost a bitter Democratic primary election to Gilliam and was then-president of the City Council, moved into the mayor's office after Gilliam's resignation.

And other former Atlantic City mayors, such as Michael Matthews, who in 1984 was ousted from office and later indicted on extortion charges in pocketing $11,000 in payoffs from local businessmen, joined future Mayor James Usry not long after in 1990.

Usry was charged with conspiracy, official misconduct, bribery and accepting gifts to public servants and campaign contribution violations after allegations that he accepted a $6,000 bribe to allow motorized rolling chairs on Atlantic City's world-famous boardwalk.