OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:00 PM – Sunday, October 13, 2024
Democrat Atlantic City Mayor and his wife have pleaded not guilty to accusations of beating and abusing their teenage daughter.
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Marty Small Sr. (D-N.J.) and his wife La’Quetta Small, the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, have pleaded not guilty after they were indicted last month on child endangerment and other charges.
Their daughter, who was between 15 and 16-years-old at the time, was allegedly hit and emotionally abused by both parents in December and January, at least once to the point of unconsciousness, according to the prosecution.
In addition to the charges of assault and making terroristic threats, Marty, 50, is also accused of endangering the welfare of children.
On behalf of himself and his spouse, Small has refuted the accusations, describing them as a personal family issue that is not criminal in nature.
The mayor’s lawyer, Ed Jacobs, issued a statement calling the couple “entirely innocent” parents targeted by prosecutors for their high-profile status.
“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,” the statement read. “We are confident that fair-minded jurors will quickly see that parenting struggles are not criminal events, and will agree on the innocence of both Marty and La’Quetta.”
Small told The Associated Press that his daughter was still living at home and that he was eager to have the facts looked into on the day he and his wife were charged.
“All people have heard is one side of the story,” he said. “We look forward to telling our side.”
On September 17th, they were indicted less than a week after the principal of Atlantic City High School was charged with counts stemming from the same case.
Constance Days-Chapman is charged with neglecting to notify the state’s child welfare authorities about the alleged abuse. She works for La’Quetta Small, who is a close friend of the Smalls.
The girl allegedly told Days-Chapman in December that her parents’ beatings were giving her headaches. However, the indictment states that Days-Chapman informed the Smalls rather than informing the authorities.
Her attorney maintains her innocence, and during her court appearance last week, she entered a not guilty plea.
In April, prosecutors submitted court filings claiming that the Smalls were against the boyfriend of their daughter, who had surreptitiously recorded an alleged incident of the mayor abusing the girl verbally and physically through a video chat.
The prosecutors’ affidavit states that the girl once admitted fabricating the charges out of resentment that her parents wouldn’t allow her to go out with friends. However, the girl’s detailed claims that the abuse was real are included in other sections of the document. She also claimed to have taken pictures of her bruises and sent them to her boyfriend, who then shared them with the police.
The girl’s statements to police, school personnel, a therapist, and state child welfare investigators were among the evidence cited by prosecutor William Reynolds’ office. She also allegedly sent messages to friends expressing her lack of feeling safe at home.
Marty was elected in 2019 and has continued to appear at public events in the weeks since the indictment.
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