Atlantic City mayor, his wife accused of beating daughter were secretly video recorded by teen’s boyfriend they ‘disapproved of’
The teenage daughter of Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife was reportedly caught on camera being assaulted by her boyfriend, whom the parents had “expressed disapproval of,” as disclosed on Wednesday.
According to legal documents, Small and his spouse La’Quetta, who is 47 years old and serves as the leader of Atlantic City schools, were caught on camera during a video call, supposedly scolding and “strangling” their child.
The parents formally faced charges on Monday of endangering the welfare of a child.
The duo is facing accusations of both verbal and physical mistreatment that reportedly started in December 2023. The claims include accusations that they used a broom to render the 16-year-old girl unconscious, struck her with a belt, and punched her in the mouth, as stated in a sworn statement.
A large portion of the physical and verbal mistreatment was covertly recorded by the girl’s partner — whom her parents “did not approve of” and insisted she end the relationship with.
According to the documents, the boyfriend also presented a collection of photographs she had sent him depicting her wounds.
During an investigation, an unidentified partner reported that in December 2023, they observed Marty Small “shout at her and engage in physical violence, particularly by strangling her” through a video call.
A single video snippet, resembling a screen capture, documented an event around Jan. 3 where Small was seen scolding his daughter while she quietly spoke to her boyfriend on a video call, expressing her fear.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” the father can be heard making threats in the video. “That’s all you do. That’s all you do anyway,” the daughter replied. The conflict carried on shortly after as the daughter exclaimed “Quit pushing me!”
“I’m telling you, you’re going to do harm to yourself if you get in my space again,” Small is heard telling his daugther in response.. “Sit down. I’ll smack that weave out ya head,” Small said not long after.
“I don’t care where I push you at … I’m going to earth slam her down the steps,” mayor Small shouted. “Come past this me [sic] and I’m gonna grab you by the head and throw you on the ground. Nothing is gonna happen to me!”
On January 7, another incident was documented where the young girl was captured on video requesting her mother to remove her hand from her neck and claiming that she had struck her in the mouth, as stated in the legal document.
“Who you telling to get off of you girl! You don’t run me. You don’t run me. And I’m gonna touch you whenever I wanna touch you,” La’Quetta Small is heard telling her daugther.
According to the affidavit, La’Quetta Small allegedly pulled the teenager’s hair and struck her with a belt on her shoulders after her boyfriend delivered food to their residence.
The mayor’s daughter informed authorities that on January 13th, her father forcibly placed her under running water, pushed her against a wall, and strangled her.
According to her account, he proceeded to strike her in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness.
The young woman’s partner recounted how she later displayed to him via video call the curved broomstick he purportedly used to assault her. He shared multiple pictures showing the girl’s wounds scattered across her body, such as “scratches, bruising, swelling, and hair loss.”
The allegations were brought to attention during a mental wellness seminar at Atlantic City High School when the adolescent quietly confided in faculty about experiencing mistreatment and requested to speak with a therapist.
Later that day, a staff member from the school removed her from class and they conversed in the corridor for more than two hours, during which she recounted the broom incident.
The teenager stated that she had informed ACHS Principal Days-Chapman earlier, who assured her that she would notify the Department of Child Protection & Permanency [DCP&P] about the suspected abusive incident.
When a therapist reached out to La’Quetta Smalls, she mentioned that her daughter had been covertly spending time with a boyfriend who her family disapproved of, despite being instructed to end the relationship. This situation had led to conflict within the household.
During an interview with [DCP&P] officials, Small and his spouse refuted the accusations, claiming that their daughter fabricated the story out of anger towards them for confiscating her phone.
On March 28, authorities conducted a search of the residence of the mayor. Following this, on April 1, the mayor’s spouse and their child appeared at a press event in Atlantic City, where the mayor declared that he has “nothing to hide.”
While conducting the investigation, investigators came across a handwritten note from the daughter’s closet, dated Dec. 21, 2023, in which the young girl expressed her intention to leave home.
“Honestly, I’m going for peace, I keep disappointing you all, I’m just going to go. Must hate me for not being perfect,” the daughter noted. “Getting called dumb, crazy, mental and sick hurts but that’s okay, I guess I’m the biggest disappointment for defending myself.”
Aside from the child endangerment allegations, Marty Small is facing charges of third-degree terrorist threats and third-degree aggravated assault. He and his spouse are also facing a disorderly persons’ charge for simple assault.
