Drop Child Abuse Case Against Us, NJ Mayor & Wife Say: Reports

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife, the Atlantic City School District superintendent, called for their child abuse case to be dropped and said that they were just trying to protect their teenage daughter as they appeared in court Tuesday, according to reports.

The hearing for Mayor Marty Small Sr., 50, and La'Quetta Small, 47, lasted five hours, according to NJ.com.

During the hearing, the Smalls' defense attorneys argued that they were just concerned parents worried about their daughter and disapproved of her boyfriend, BreakingAC reported.

The mayor is accused of threatening to hurt his daughter by "earth slamming" her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head, during an argument on Jan. 3, 2024. In another incident, he is accused of punching her repeatedly in her legs causing bruising.

His wife is accused of punching her daughter multiple times, leaving bruises on the girl's chest in one incident, and punching her in the mouth during an argument. La'Quetta Small also is accused of dragging her daughter by her hair then hitting her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks.

Marty Small also faces witness tampering charges as he is accused of telling his daughter to "twist up" a story and say she tripped and fell in her room when her head was injured, officials said. This is in reference to a Jan. 13, 2024 incident, where it is alleged that Small hit his daughter in the head with a broom repeatedly, causing her to lose consciousness.

Attorneys argued that the state violated wiretap laws, as the daughter's boyfriend allegedly had 13 recordings of conversations between her and her father, the Press of Atlantic City reported. But the attorneys said that the boyfriend hadn't gained her consent to record them, according to the report.

They also argued that the mayor's words didn't constitute the terroristic threats charge, according to the reports. Instead, the attorneys said they were made out of anger and frustration.

A decision was not made Tuesday; the attorneys were given a May 19 deadline for more information to be filed regarding the wiretapping and the motion to dismiss La'Quetta Small's charges. They will be back in court on June 6 for that motion. Before that, they will be in court May 2, when the state will argue to join the witness tampering charge with the mayor's other charges.

Previous Reporting:

• Atlantic City Mayor, Superintendent Indicted In Abuse Of Daughter
• Atlantic City HS Principal Who Didn't Report Child Abuse Indicted
• Atlantic City Mayor, Superintendent Abused Teen Daughter: Prosecutor