Atlantic City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. La'Quetta Small and her husband, Atlantic City Mayor Small, were indicted yesterday on second-degree counts of endangering the welfare of their teenage daughter and simple assault. The mayor was also charged with third-degree terroristic threatening and third-degree aggravated assault.
Dr. Small was Superintendent of the Atlantic City School District serving 6,300 students for two and a half years. Previously, she was a teacher in Newark City Public Schools.
According to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office:
“In one incident, Marty Small, Sr. reportedly struck his daughter in the head multiple times with a broom, rendering her unconscious. In another incident, Marty Small Sr. repeatedly slammed her daughter down the stairs during an argument with her daughter, grabbed her by the head, threw her to the ground and grabbed her head. It is said that he threatened to harm her by hitting her room. . Another incident involved Marty Small, Sr. repeatedly hitting her daughter's legs, causing bruises. In one incident, La'Quetta Small allegedly punched her daughter in the chest multiple times, leaving her with bruises. In another incident, La'Quetta Small allegedly dragged her daughter by her hair and hit her on the shoulder with her belt, leaving marks on her. In another incident, La’Quetta Small allegedly punched her daughter in the mouth during an argument.”
NBC reported that the investigation into the Smalls' alleged abuse of their daughter was hampered by miscommunication and negligence. At a mental health training for Atlantic City high school students on Jan. 22 of this year, students were given cards and told to circle a smiling face, a neutral face, or an unhappy face. Small's daughter asked to see a counselor by circling “neutral” and writing “abuse” on the back of hers. When her counselor contacted her that morning, she explained that she had been hit with her broom and said she had already notified her high school principal, Constance Days-Chapman. When the counselor contacted Days Chapman, the principal told her she would notify the Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), she said.
Later that day, the student told his therapist that he had told school officials about the abuse that had occurred at home. “I was really stressed, I cried a lot, I was mentally unstable and I felt uncomfortable around them. “It’s not safe.” The therapist called La'Quetta Small that evening and told her there was no abuse. She said she and her husband didn't like her daughter's boyfriend and had an argument about it.
When investigators interviewed the boyfriend, he showed them video clips from his cell phone that contained evidence of the abuse, including swelling, scrapes, bruising and hair loss. The boy's mother confirmed she had heard of the abuse.
Investigators later discovered that Principal Days-Chapman had not notified DCP&P. When I spoke to AtlantiCare Teen Center, which provides mental health care to Atlantic City high school students, staff there said they would have spoken to the DCP&P, but he was told the school had already notified the agency.
Ed Jacobs, Mayor Small's attorney, told NBC:
“The charges filed today by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office do not allege public corruption, misconduct in office, or any failure by Mayor Small to properly discharge his responsibilities as Mayor of Atlantic City. On the contrary, they are personal, personal family matters.”
Jacobs later said: “It was a misguided attempt to micromanage very private and personal family issues, including the challenges faced by parents attempting to properly raise their teenage children.”
At this time, it is unclear whether La'Quetta Small has her own attorney. Atlantic City Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment or status.