Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. was acquitted Thursday of endangering and abusing his teenage daughter.
Prosecutors accused Small of beating and emotionally abusing the girl when she was between 15 and 16 years old, at least once to the point of unconsciousness.
Just weeks before the trial began, Small was re-elected to a new four-year term in the Democratic stronghold, achieving a 24 percentage point victory over his Republican rival.
The jury’s verdict comes after a week of testimony in which Small’s 17-year-old daughter testified about several incidents in which she said her father abused her, telling jurors he hit her, punched her and hit her with a broom. Meanwhile, Small has taken a stance denying any abuse and insisting he is a loving father.
His wife, Laquita Small – a superintendent of schools in the coastal gambling resort – is also accused of abusing their daughter and will be tried separately.
Outside court Thursday afternoon, Small told reporters the ruling was a “victory for everyone,” saying the entire city of Atlantic City was on trial.
“I’m not an abusive man, I never did and I never will,” he said, adding that he and his wife were “dragged through the mud by bullshit.”
Small continued, saying his daughter is “lost now,” but he hopes he can re-establish their relationship.
Phone and email messages sent to a spokesman for the district attorney’s office were not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.
Prosecutors accused Marty Small of demanding that their daughter retract her allegations to law enforcement officials that he abused her. Small, 51, asked the girl to do him a favor and “twist” the story she told police about being abused, according to prosecutors.
He was also accused of asking his daughter to claim that the head injury she sustained in January 2024 was caused by a trip and fall in her bedroom.
Small’s daughter told the jury that this came after she told her father that she did not want to attend an event in the city, noting that she had not done her hair. An argument arose, and the girl said that she sprayed the little girl with laundry detergent after he pushed her, so he brought the broom and hit her several times, causing her to lose consciousness.
Small’s lawyer, Louis Barbon, asserted during his questioning that there were inconsistencies in the statements she made to the authorities and cast doubt on her account of the broom incident. He said that the Public Prosecution had no record of the incident involving the broom, and said that the girl was using a butter knife. Barbone said the teen’s injuries occurred when she fell while the two were wrestling over the broom.
Barbone said the teenager exaggerated the extent of her injuries, noting that she told investigators that she felt safe at home when they initially questioned her. The lawyer described Small as a caring father, concerned about his daughter, who disciplined his disobedient child legally.
During his testimony, Small denied harming his child.
Prosecutors said the Smalls rejected their daughter’s boyfriend, who secretly used a video chat to record an alleged instance of the mayor physically and verbally assaulting the girl. Marty Small described the situation as a private family matter that did not rise to the level of a crime.
Laquita Small, 49, is scheduled to stand trial on January 12. She pleaded not guilty and maintained her innocence.
Constance Days Chapman, the now-suspended principal of Atlantic City High School, is also charged in the case. Prosecutors said she failed to report the teen’s abuse allegation to the state Division of Child Protection and Sustainment. She also pleaded not guilty.