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Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small and his wife are suing Craig Callaway and unnamed others, claiming a conspiracy to slander them.
Callaway is accused of lying when he said that the Smalls allowed a now-admitted child molester to abuse children in their home.
For his part, Callaway told BreakingAC that he plans to file a lawsuit of his own, alleging the mayor slandered him.
The Smalls’ lawsuit filed Monday accuses Callaway and five alleged co-conspirators who have not yet been identified of slander and civil conspiracy for claims Callaway made during two broadcast interviews: one with local radio host Harry Hurley and another with AC 411.
The case relates to Dr. LaQuetta Small’s cousin, Ka’yan Frazier, who recently pleaded guilty in a child pornography case. He was accused of molesting at least one minor and then sharing pictures and videos of the abuse.
Frazier worked under Dr. Small as a substitute at Pennsylvania Avenue School when Small was principal there.
But it’s accusations made against the Smalls in relation to their knowledge of the abuse that brought the lawsuit filed Monday.
Callaway gave two interviews in which he alleged that children were molested in the Smalls’ home and that one or both had witnessed it.
"Marty, you and your wife should have been focused on protecting and saving children who were in your home, who were savagely attacked and raped in your home," Callaway said on Hurley.
“These statements are lies and the defendant knew or should have known they were lies,” attorney Ed Jacobs said during a news conference at this Atlantic City office Wednesday.
Frazier already had moved out of the Smalls’ home when the illegal acts happened, Jacobs said.
He also noted that it was Dr. Small who reported that her cousin violated district policy by having a student stay at his home and sleep in is bed in 2017.
An investigation by the Department of Children and Families found no wrongdoing, and Frazier was even hired by them later. He was a caseworker for DCPP when he was arrested in 2019.
“Political discourse is healthy and encouraged in New Jersey,” Jacobs said. “But the right of political discourse does not carry with it a privilege to make false accusations of criminal conduct against an elected official or a school principal or anyone else.”
Callaway admits he said what is on recording, but will not say at this time what evidence he has to back his claims.
He did tell BreakingAC that he will be filing a lawsuit claiming it was Small who slandered him.
Small allegedly claimed that Callaway had switched votes and cheated during the election, Callaway said.
“He’s the slanderer,” Callaway said. “He has no proof of the allegations he made against me because it doesn’t exist.”
