The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife have been accused of beating their teenage daughter unconscious with a broom. The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office stated that Mayor Marty Small Sr., 50, and his wife La’Quetta Small, 47, were charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to investigators, Marty took a broom and repeatedly hit his daughter in the head
Marty was additionally charged with third-degree terrorist threats and third-degree aggravated assault. Both have been charged with disorderly conduct and simple assault.
La’Quetta is supposedly the superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools. According to reports, their daughter had already been assaulted on several occasions. She was abused when she was 15 and 16 years old, between December 2023 and January 2024.
According to investigators, Marty took a broom and repeatedly hit his daughter in the head. She eventually lost consciousness.
The attack was allegedly filmed by the teenage girl’s boyfriend, whom her parents “disapproved of,” according to the New York Post. The anonymous boyfriend told detectives that in December 2023, he saw over video chat how Marty “screamed at her and was physically abusive, specifically by choking her.”
Marty also threatened his daughter with “earth-slamming” her down the stairs during an altercation. He’s also repeatedly punched his daughter in the legs, injuring her. La’Quetta allegedly hit the girl multiple times in the chest.
In another episode, La’Quetta dragged her daughter by the hair and struck her with a belt. During another disagreement, she punched her daughter in the mouth.
Detectives discovered a handwritten note dated December 2023 in which the girl threatened to run away from home
During a mental health seminar at Atlantic City High School, the girl revealed that she had been abused. She stated a desire to consult a counselor. In an interview with [DCP&P] officials, Mary and his wife insisted they were innocent. They claimed their daughter made up the story because she was furious that her phone had been taken away.
On March 28, the mayor’s residence was searched. Detectives discovered a handwritten note dated December 2023 in which the girl threatened to run away from home. The note was found in her closet.
“Honestly, I’m going for peace, I keep disappointing you all, I’m just going to go. You must hate me for not being perfect,” she wrote. “Getting called dumb, crazy, mental, and sick hurts, but that’s okay, I guess I’m the biggest disappointment for defending myself.”