Mayor Marty Small addresses media and employees surrounded by his son, wife, daughter and attorney, Ed Jacobs.
Atlantic City's mayor and superintendent physically abused their 16-year-old daughter multiple times, leaving marks and threatening her, according to charges filed Monday.
Mayor Marty Small, 50, and Superintendent La'Quetta Small, 47, both face second-degree charges of endangering the welfare charges.
The mayor is additionally charged with terroristic threats, simple assault and an aggravated assault, during which he allegedly struck the girl so hard with a broom that she lost consciousness.
Dr. Small faces three additional charges of simple assault, for allegedly punching the girl on two different occasions, and hitting her with a belt on a third.
Mayor Marty Small did not comment when reached by phone shortly after the charges were announced.
A woman who answered the phone at the superintendent's office said no one could comment.
When asked if Dr. Small was there, the woman replied: "No, she's out working in the district."
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the city, said they declined comment.
The charges do not come as a surprise, after the Smalls' home was raided March 28.
BreakingAC was the first to connect the two cases.
Days later, the mayor confirmed the connection in a press conference held at City Hall.
With his wife and children by his side, Small gave support to Days-Chapman — who his children call Aunt Mandy — and assured his residents that rumors running rampant about beatings and a lost teenage pregnancy were untrue.
A rally was held last week in support of the mayor, where religious and civic leaders called it a "family matter."
Pastor Amir from Camden even talked about his own issue with his then-teenage daughter, who called 911 after he beat her with a belt.
The officer later told the pastor he would have done the same thing, Khan said.
The current charges allege that the Smalls' daughter was abused mentally and physically on multiple occasions between December and January.
During one incident, the mayor allegedly hit his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness.
Marty Small "threatened to hurt her by 'earth slamming' her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head," during another argument, a release from the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office claims.
Another time, he allegedly punched the girl repeatedly in her legs, causing bruising.
Dr. La'Quetta Small is accused of punching her daughter multiple times in the chest during one incident, leaving bruising. Another incident alleged that Dr. Small dragged her daughter by her hair, and then struck her with a belt on her shoulders leaving marks.
During a third incident, the superintendent allegedly punched her daughter in the mouth during an argument.
The Smalls were charged on summonses. They have a court date of May 15.
While the mayor would not officially comment, he got a message across Monday night via Facebook.
He posted a headshot of himself with several hashtags, including "the strongest ish on the shelf," "2 sides" and "God got us."
He also referenced both his catch phrase "Can we say great day" and his mantra for the year, "Ain't no stopping us now."
"Eddie Jacobs talks for me," was also there, referencing well-known attorney Ed Jacobs, who made a point of telling multiple news outlets that the charges "have absolutely nothing to do with public corruption or misconduct in office or any malfeasance of any kind whatsoever.”
“There’s simply no public element at all,” he said. “The complaints are focused on private family matters and challenges met by Mayor Small as a dad and La’Quetta Small as a mom of a teenage child.”
