ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The mayor of Atlantic City, Marty Small Sr., who is already under scrutiny for allegations of abusing his teenage daughter, is now facing an additional accusation of witness tampering.
The charges were filed on Monday, with Small and his wife, La’Quetta, who serves as the school superintendent in the same city, previously charged in connection with the alleged abuse of their daughter.
According to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, the 50-year-old mayor is purported to have urged his daughter to alter her statement to investigators regarding incidents of supposed abuse that occurred in December and January.
Notably, he allegedly directed her to falsely claim that a head injury was the result of a trip and fall in her room.
In defense of his client, Small’s attorney, Edwin Jacobs, dismissed the new charge as “sheer nonsense,” asserting that the mayor merely encouraged his daughter to be truthful about the events that transpired.
“When a parent urges a child to provide accurate information to authorities, that does not equate to witness tampering,” Jacobs stated Wednesday.
He further claimed that Small was fulfilling his responsibilities as a parent by urging honesty from his daughter.
The attorney argued that the charge is an attempt by the prosecution to undermine Small’s parenting and negatively influence his relationship with his child.
Jacobs did not disclose whether the teenager continues to reside with her parents; however, Small indicated just last month that she was living at home.
Prosecutors alleged that the mayor attempted to have his daughter negate her earlier accusations of abuse personally aware of the impending indictment he faced for child abuse.
This alleged request was purportedly made two days prior to a grand jury’s decision to indict both Marty and La’Quetta Small.
They are accused of both physically and emotionally mistreating their daughter, who was aged 15 to 16 at the time of the alleged incidents last winter.
Specific allegations include that on January 13, Small struck his daughter multiple times in the head with a broom, which caused her to lose consciousness.
In a separate incident ten days earlier, he reportedly argued with his daughter, grabbing her head, slamming her to the ground, and threatening to push her down the stairs. Additionally, he is accused of delivering punches to her legs, resulting in visible bruising.
Meanwhile, La’Quetta Small, 47, faces accusations of repeatedly striking her daughter on the chest, also leaving bruises.
She is further alleged to have dragged her daughter by the hair and beat her with a belt, leading to marked injuries.
The couple entered a plea of not guilty to the initial charges last month.
Marty Small is scheduled to appear in court concerning the witness tampering charge on December 3.