An Atlantic City High School secretary never reported allegations of abuse the mayor and superintendent's daughter made to her, according to new criminal charges just discovered by BreakingAC.
Mayor Marty Small and Superintendent Dr. La'Quetta Small appeared in court Thursday for their arraignments after being indicted on charges they allegedly beat their 16-year-old daughter.
In one incident, the mayor allegedly beat the girl unconscious with a broom.
Toria Young, who works in the High School's main office, witnessed an injury to the girl's face in mid-January, and also saw bruises on the girl's arm, she told detectives investigating the allegations in February.
But Young — who is identified as the victim's older cousin — did not report what she knew, according to charges filed against her last month.
Instead, she "failed to report to appropriate authorities for the purpose to benefit the juvenile's parents whom the defendant is also related to," reads the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC. "The defendant hindered detection and investigation by failure to report the abuse because it was family and (she) believed the incidents to be punishment rather than abuse."
The Galloway Township woman now faces criminal charges of second-degree official misconduct, third-degree hindering apprehension and a disorder persons charged for failure to report child abuse.
The charges are similar to those filed against HIgh School Principal Constance Days-Chapman in March.
Constance Days-ChapmanDays-Chapman — a family friend the Small children known as "Aunt Mandy" — is accused of failing to report the abuse allegations when the teen first came to her. When the girl went another school employee, Days-Chapman allegedly insisted she was unaware of the allegations. She then promised to report them, but did not, according to the complaint filed earlier this year.
Days-Chapman is currently on leave from her position. It is unclear whether she is still getting paid after a grand jury indicted her last month.
She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment last week
The Smalls were indicted a week after Days-Chapman. Both remain in their positions.
They pleaded not guilty Thursday morning.
Meanwhile Young, 30, is due in court Wednesday for her first appearance, according to the charging documents obtained by BreakingAC.
The charges were filed last month but not publicly announced. No attorney is listed for her in the court system at this time.
Young was mentioned in the seven-page complaint against the Smalls previously published by BreakingAC. But there was no indication at that time that she was being accused of a crime.
She told investigators Feb. 5, that the victim "was dealing with some major issues that have caused conflict between her personal life, school, and her boyfriend," the complaint stated. "(Youn) confirmed that there is a lot of contention between J.S. and her parents due to their disapproval of her boyfriend."
The boyfriend was vocal about the alleged mistreatment of the girl in social media posts before the criminal charges were filed. He also has claimed that the Smalls tried to tamper with evidence by getting an iPad he had that reportedly has audio recordings of some of the alleged abuse that happened as he spoke to the girl.
Toria Young is mentioned in the original complaint against the Smalls.It is unclear if any others could be charged in the case.
Dr. Andrea Davis, who heads the AtlantiCare Teen Center inside Atlantic City High School, told investigators Feb. 16, that the Smalls' daughter had been receiving services at the center over the past few months.
The woman said the teen had told her she was having problems with her parents in late January, "specifically interactions with her father."
The girl "told Dr. Davis that she had been hit by her father at home that left a mark on her face," Davis told detectives.
She said that the girl told her she had reported the information to an employee.
Davis reportedly told the detectives that if the girl had not already told someone else about the abuse, "they she would've made a report to DCP&P (the Division of Child Protection and Permanency."
It was not clear if not reporting it at that time could become an issue.
Dr. Andrea Davis also appeared to know and not report anything. A search of the court system by BreakingAC could find no charges listed against her.
