Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. was acquitted on Thursday of all the charges against him in connection to the alleged abuse of his teenage daughter.
The 51-year-old Democrat, who won reelection in November, had been indicted in September 2024, alongside his wife, La’Quetta Small, the city’s superintendent of schools. Both were charged with child endangerment, aggravated assault and making terrorist threats following accusations that they physically and emotionally abused their daughter on multiple occasions between December 2023 and January 2024.
In one instance, Small allegedly beat his daughter in the head with a broom, causing her to lose consciousness, prosecutors said. He was also accused of punching her and threatening to throw her down a flight of stairs. La’Quetta Small was accused of punching the girl, dragging her by the hair and striking her with a belt.
In December 2024, as an investigation was ongoing, Marty Small was indicted again on charges of witnessing tampering after he allegedly told his daughter to lie about the abuse. According to prosecutors, he asked her to “do him a favor and ‘twist up’ the story she had previously told police,” specifically by asking her to say that the injuries she sustained from the broom came from when she “tripped and fell in her room.”
The trial against Marty Small began earlier this month and concluded on Thursday when the jury finally reached a verdict after two and a half days of asking questions and making requests to review evidence, according to NJ Advance Media.
Jurors reportedly asked the court what would happen if they couldn’t unanimously agree on the charges, but made a decision minutes after asking to listen again to portions of Small’s testimony.
Small and his supporters cheered when the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on all counts. He also celebrated outside the courthouse, telling reporters that “the entire Atlantic City was on trial, and this is a win for everyone.”
Small had have been facing up to 25 years in prison and would have be forced to step down as mayor if convicted of the more serious charges. He’d earlier rejected a plea deal that would’ve taken incarceration off the table.
Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said he disagreed with the verdict, but respected the judicial process.
“Today’s verdict, while disappointing, is what America’s all about,” Reynolds said. “When someone is charged with a crime, they have the constitutional right to face their accusers and be judged by a jury of their peers and that happened today.”
La’Quetta Small is reportedly expected to stand trial separately in January for child endangerment and failing to report the alleged abuse. She denies wrongdoing.
