Criminal charges for Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small and wife, the school superintendent
ATLANTIC CITY - Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife, the school district's superintendent, face criminal charges for alleged abuse of their teenage daughter.
The first-term mayor, 50, is accused of striking the girl in the head with a broom until she lost consciousness, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
It also claimed Small punched the girl and threatened to hurt the girl "by 'earth slamming' her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head."
School Superintendent La'Quetta Small allegedly "dragged her daughter by her hair, then struck her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks," the prosecutor's office said in a statement Monday.
It also claimed the mother punched the girl in the chest and mouth during separate incidents.
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The abuse allegedly occurred while the girl was 15 and 16 years old.
An attorney for the parents said they “are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be vindicated.”
The lawyer, Edwin J. Jacobs Jr., noted the charges allege no corrupt activity and “focus exclusively on private family matters, basically attempting to second guess parental decisions."
The mayor denied any wrongdoing at an April 1 news conference, which was held after a March 28 police search of his home.
"We have done nothing wrong," said Small, who said a months-long investigation by the prosecutor's office was focused on "a family matter."
Small's wife, his daughter and his son attended the news conference.
The Smalls "remain a close and loving and intact family," their attorney said in a statement.
Both of the Smalls were charged Monday with endangering the welfare of a child, and the mayor also was charged with terrorist threats and aggravated assault.
He and his wife also are accused of simple assault, a disorderly persons offense.
The charges, which were brought by summons, are only allegations. No one has been convicted in the case.
Marty Small "remains the mayor," according to Jacobs' statement.
The city's school district did not respond to a request for information about La'Quetta Small's employment status.
The April 1 news conference took place after the principal of Atlantic City High School, Constance “Mandy” Days-Chapman, was charged with failing to report to the proper authorities that a students had reported abuse in her home.
Days-Chapman went to the student's parents instead, the prosecutor's office said.
Days-Chapman managed Small's mayoral campaign and is a close friend, the mayor said at the press conference.
He did not confirm the student who reported abuse was his daughter, who attends Atlantic City High School.
But the mayor expressed support for Days-Chapman, who is also chair of the Atlantic City Democratic Committee.
"You did absolutely nothing wrong," he said at the news conference.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Atlantic City mayor, school superintendent face abuse allegations