Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. addresses child abuse allegations: ‘It doesn’t change my commitment’

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., facing allegations that he abused his teenage daughter, said he was “committed to his family and to his city” at a Thursday event.

“We’ve all seen news accounts of what’s going on with myself personally,” Small said during a speech at the East Coast Gaming Congress at the city’s Hard Rock casino, according to the Associated Press.

It was the first time that Small publicly addressed the charges of physical assault and endangering a child since Atlantic County prosecutors filed them against the 50-year-old Democrat and his wife, Atlantic City schools superintendent La’Quetta Small, on Monday.

“It’s just that: personal,” the mayor continued. “But I pledge to each and every one of you, it doesn’t change my commitment, number one, to my family, and it doesn’t change my commitment here to the great city of Atlantic City.”

An affidavit viewed by The Inquirer paints a detailed portrait of the alleged abuse Small and his wife inflicted on their 16-year-old daughter in late 2023 and 2024, which investigators said stemmed from their disapproval of her boyfriend.

Prosecutors allege that during an argument, Small struck his daughter with a broom, rendering her unconscious. Other descriptions of physical violence said Small struck his daughter in the legs with his fist, and that La’Quetta Small knelt on the teenager’s chest and “smacked her multiple times across the face.”

In one instance, investigators allege Small threw his daughter “into the shower, slammed her, and choked her.”

Small has denied wrongdoing, and has stressed that the allegations have no relation to his duties as mayor.

“Mayor Marty Small remains the mayor of the city of Atlantic City and will continue to faithfully perform his duties as mayor,” his attorney, Edwin Jacobs, said in a statement Tuesday.

Small’s daughter reported the abuse this year to a school principal — a local Democratic official and associate of Small who was charged in March for failing to report the allegation to a child protection agency.

Investigators said Small’s daughter told school personnel, a mental health therapist, and personal acquaintances about the alleged abuse. But when questioned by detectives, Small’s daughter told them that she made the allegations up.

However, investigators would find information that contradicted that statement after interviewing Small’s boyfriend, who detailed verbal, mental, and physical abuse revealed on video chats between the couple — including her “clothing being ripped, and her body bruised after the abuse incidents.” Other videos recorded during arguments between Small and his daughter offered investigators audio of the alleged abuse.

Small opened his Hard Rock event Tuesday with his signature phrase: “It’s a great day in the city of Atlantic City,” the Associated Press reported. He proceeded to address city matters, such as redevelopment of Pacific Avenue and the challenges faced by a growing casino scene in New York.