Current:Home > ContactAtlantic City mayor and his wife plead not guilty to beating their daughter -RiskRadar
Atlantic City mayor and his wife plead not guilty to beating their daughter
View
Date:2025-04-18 19:50:16
MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife, who is the seaside gambling resort’s schools superintendent, pleaded not guilty Thursday to beating and abusing their teenage daughter, with a lawyer saying that “parenting struggles are not criminal events.”
Mayor Marty Small Sr. and La’Quetta Small, who oversee a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money, were indicted last month on child endangerment and other charges. Prosecutors said both parents hit and emotionally abused the girl, who was 15 to 16 years old, in December and January, at least once to the point of unconsciousness.
Both are charged with child endangerment, and Marty Small, 50, is also charged with assault and terroristic threats. Small has denied the charges on behalf of himself and his wife, calling them a private family matter that did not constitute a crime.
Small, a Democrat, and his wife did not speak in court or outside afterward. The mayor’s lawyer, Ed Jacobs, issued a statement calling the couple “entirely innocent” parents targeted by prosecutors for their prominent public roles.
“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.”
On the day he and his wife were indicted, Small told The Associated Press that he was eager to have the facts examined and that his daughter continues to live at home.
“All people have heard is one side of the story,” he said. “We look forward to telling our side.”
Their indictment Sept. 17 came 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 accused of failing to report the abuse allegations to state child welfare authorities. She is a close friend of the Smalls, and La’Quetta Small is her boss.
According to the indictment, in December the girl, who was 15 at the time, told Days-Chapman she was suffering headaches from beatings by her parents. But instead of telling authorities, the indictment says, Days-Chapman instead told the Smalls.
Her lawyer says she is innocent, and she pleaded not guilty at a court appearance last week.
Prosecutors filed court documents in April saying the Smalls disapproved of their daughter’s boyfriend, who secretly used a video chat to record an alleged instance of the mayor physically and verbally assaulting the girl.
An affidavit from prosecutors says the girl at one point acknowledged making up the accusations because she was angry her parents wouldn’t let her go out with friends. But in other sections, the document includes detailed claims by the girl that the abuse was real, and it said she photographed bruises and sent them to her boyfriend, who shared them with detectives.
The office of prosecutor William Reynolds cited evidence including recordings of interactions between the girl and her parents; her statements to police, school workers, a therapist and state child welfare investigators; and messages she sent to friends saying she did not feel safe at home.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
veryGood! (7)
Related
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Georgia WR Colbie Young arrested on charges of battery and assault on an unborn child
- Mets vs. Phillies live updates: NLDS Game 3 time, pitchers, MLB playoffs TV channel
- Colleen Hoover's 'Reminders of Him' is getting a movie adaptation: Reports
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- The Flaming Lips Drummer Steven Drozd’s 16-Year-Old Daughter is Missing
- Love Is Blind's Amber Pike and Matt Barnett Expecting First Baby
- New York Jets fire coach Robert Saleh after 2-3 start to season
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Law letting Tennessee attorney general argue certain capital cases is constitutional, court rules
Ranking
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Why Wait? These October Prime Day 2024 Deals Make Great Christmas Gifts & Start at Just $4
- Opinion: Karma is destroying quarterback Deshaun Watson and Cleveland Browns
- 'We're just exhausted': The battered and storm-weary prepare for landfall. Again.
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Judge declines bid by New Hampshire parents to protest transgender players at school soccer games
- As FEMA prepares for Hurricane Milton, it battles rumors surrounding Helene recovery
- Yes, voter fraud happens. But it’s rare and election offices have safeguards to catch it
Recommendation
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
Supreme Court rejects R. Kelly's child sexual abuse appeal, 20-year sentence stands
Best October Prime Day 2024 Athleisure & Activewear Deals – That Are Also Super Cute & Up to 81% Off
In final rule, EPA requires removal of all US lead pipes in a decade
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
Federal judge in Alabama hears request to block 3rd nitrogen execution
Supreme Court declines to hear appeal from Mississippi death row inmate
AP Elections Top 25: The people, places, races, dates and things to know about Election Day