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Atlantic City mayor's wife accused of abusing and assaulting teenage daughter – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small and his wife were accused Monday of repeatedly abusing and assaulting their teenage daughter, including beating her over the head with a broomstick and knocking her unconscious.

The Atlantic County District Attorney's Office said both parents have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Marty Small was also charged with making terroristic threats; aggravated assault and simple assault. La'Quetta Small was additionally charged with three separate counts of simple assault.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, center, greets supporters after a press conference on April 1, 2024 in Atlantic City, NJ. Small said the district attorney's office served a search warrant on his home last week.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small greets supporters after a news conference on April 1, 2024 in Atlantic City, NJ. Small said a search warrant at his home last week by the district attorney's office was related to a “domestic matter.” Young Children advises and works with state child welfare agencies. On April 15, 2024, Little and his wife, LaKetta, were charged with child endangerment and child abuse against their teenage daughter. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

The prosecutor's office said in a press release that “the defendants repeatedly physically and emotionally abused their 15/16-year-old daughter in December 2023 and January 2024.”

It said that in one incident, Marty Small hit his daughter repeatedly over the head with a broomstick, knocking her unconscious. He is also accused of repeatedly hitting his daughter on the leg, leaving her with bruises, and throwing her down the stairs and threatening to “tear her hair off,'' the report said.

LaQuetta Small, the superintendent of Atlantic City schools, is accused of repeatedly punching her daughter in the chest, leaving bruises, and punching her in the mouth during a separate argument. According to prosecutors, LaQuetta Small is accused of dragging her daughter by her hair and hitting her on the shoulder with a belt, leaving a scar.

Reached by phone, the junior reporter declined to comment, referring to his attorney, Ed Jacobs. The attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The president and vice president of the Atlantic City Board of Education did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday.

Both minors were issued summonses for the charges against them.

Earlier this month, Little held a press conference at City Hall and said the search of his home in late March was not a crime, but a “private family matter.”

Small said at a press conference that he and his wife have been in contact with state child welfare authorities and have nothing to hide.