In a case that has left the seaside resort of Atlantic City reeling, explosive allegations have emerged accusing Mayor Marty Small, Sr. and his wife La’Quetta of subjecting their own teenage daughter to relentless physical and psychological torture over many months. The criminal charges detailing their alleged depravities behind closed doors have shattered the couple’s public images as trusted leaders.
Shocking Charges of Child Endangerment and Assault
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office has leveled truly stomach-churning charges at the city’s 50-year-old mayor and his 47-year-old wife, the superintendent of Atlantic City schools. Marty Small stands accused of endangering the welfare of a child, terroristic threats, aggravated assault, and simple assault charges. Appallingly, prosecutors say he struck his young daughter repeatedly with a broom until she lost consciousness, punched her legs leaving them bruised, and chillingly threatened to “earth slam” her down stairs and “grab her head and throw her to the ground.”
As for La’Quetta Small, she faces parallel child endangerment counts along with three counts of simple assault for allegedly punching the girl in the chest multiple times, dragging her by the hair, and striking her with a belt. The couple’s sustained campaign of violence and intimidation allegedly persisted as their daughter was just 15 and 16 years old between December 2023 and January 2024.
Teenage Victim’s Desperate Plea Sparked Investigation
The first hints of the sickening abuses came in late January when the unnamed teenage victim showed immense bravery to cry for help. During a school mental health exercise, she furtively wrote “ABUSE” and asked for counseling, setting in motion a staff member’s mandatory reporting to authorities that blew the lid off the family’s sinister secrets.
Around the same time, the young victim detailed a portion of her excruciating ordeals to a therapist, describing three specific instances when the supposed caregivers from whom all children deserve protection savagely battered her. Her courageous testimony formed the basis for the charges unveiled this week.
Suspects’ Hollow Denials and “Family Therapy” Claims
Yet even after authorities painstakingly unearthed the disturbing evidence, the Smalls have remained defiant and utterly lacking in remorse. In a statement, Marty Small’s lawyer Edwin Jacobs audaciously attempted to brush off the barbarity as merely “a private family matter” – as if maliciously assaulting one’s child could ever be acceptably “private.”
Even more perversely, Jacobs insisted the family home remains safe, proclaiming the victim has not been removed and is “right where she belongs.” He made the Orwellian claim this is simply “an intact family” seemingly worthy of mere “therapy,” not prosecution.
The mayor himself previously asserted they were undergoing “family therapy” as if that could ever excuse or undo the physical and emotional scars his daughter suffered from her parents’ hands. Their callous dismissals provide a window into how the abuse could fester for so long – the Smalls clearly deluded themselves into believing their depraved conduct was acceptable parenting.
A Profound Breach of Public Trust
The charges represent a breathtaking violation of the public trust by two prominent local officials. For over four years, Marty Small has served as the mayor and top elected official governing Atlantic City’s 40,000 residents after previously serving on the city council. Many surely felt pride investing their civic pride in the city’s first leader of color.
Meanwhile, La’Quetta Small has been the superintendent overseeing the city’s entire public school district and the education of local children since 2020. That the accused couple now face credible allegations of turning their own home into a torture chamber for their child renders a searing hypocrisy.
The possibility that either could be permitted to remain a day longer in their powerful positions of leadership over Atlantic City’s vulnerable citizens is simply unconscionable. Their arrestingabuse charges, including the horrific details of the mayor allegedly bludgeoning his daughter with a broom, have obliterated any remnant of public faith.
As the legal process plays out further, the overriding priority must be ensuring the safety and healing of the resilient teenage victim who suffered unimaginable trauma at her parents’ hands. The couple’s profound starting breach of treason against the sanctity of family will likely linger over Atlantic City for years to come as its residents reel from the shocking truth behind the facade their leaders projected to the world.
