Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. refuses to step down after being charged with beating his daughter as his lawyer claims criminal probe is to do with his 'challenges as a father' and not 'improprieties of his office'

Atlantic City's Mayor has refused to step down after he and his wife were charged with viciously beating their teen daughter in an argument over her dating life.

Defiant Marty Small Sr., 50, even posted photos on social media with the captions '#Unbothered' and 'two sides' after news of the scandal broke.

His lawyer, Edwin Jacobs, said the matter 'focuses on private personal matters, including challenges that Mayor Small as a dad and his wife, La'Quetta, as a mom have been facing raising a teenage child'.

He also denied the allegations related to 'improprieties in his [client's] office' and stated Small, will 'continue to faithfully perform his duties as mayor'.

The charges emerged two weeks after Democrat Small dragged his daughter in front of cameras to deny rumors about the crimes, including that he beat her so savagely she miscarried.

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. has refused to step down after he was charged with viciously beating their teen daughter

The defiant mayor even posted photos captioned, '#Unbothered' and '2sides' in the wake of the scandal

Small Sr (center), 50, and his wife have been charged with abusing their teenage daughter in a row over her dating life 

The Democrat, 50, and his wife La'Quetta Small, the superintendent of the Atlantic City Public School System, are accused of abusing their daughter on numerous occasions after she refused to stop seeing a boy she was dating. 

According to reported charging documents, they carried out a barrage of abuse from December 2023 to January 2024, including beating her unconscious with a broom, threatening to 'earth slam' her down stairs, striking her with a belt, and punching her in the mouth. 

But weeks before charges were brought, Small held a bizarre, foul-mouthed press conference in response to his home being raided by cops, where he insisted his daughter was not pregnant with twins via a drug dealer, and stressed he had 'nothing to hide.' 

With his daughter stood awkwardly beside him, he listed off a string of denials, some of which he has since been charged with by Atlantic City prosecutors. 

Among the claims, he denied that his she 'was pregnant with twins, and I beat the s*** out of her so bad that I killed the babies, and I'm gonna be charged with double murder.'

At the press conference, Small directly denied claims he abused his daughter, as he instead said any allegations were fueled by 'political and racial' motivations. 

'We don't have City of Atlantic City money in our house. I didn't steal anything,' he said in the press conference. 'No, we don't have drugs in our house. And we don't have guns.' 

'First of all, let me confirm an undisputed fact: My daughter is not pregnant,' he continued. 'My daughter has never been pregnant.'

The Democrat mayor and his wife La'Quetta Small (pictured together), are accused of beating their teen daughter with a broom, punching her in the face and pulling her hair 

 La'Quetta Small, 47, is the superintendent of the Atlantic City Public School System

After charges were brought, Smalls took to social media to share a close-up selfie, with several hashtags including #unbothered, and #2sides

Both parents have been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and Marty Small is also charged with third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree aggravated assault and disorderly persons simple assault

Addressing rumors that Small said came from an Atlantic City police officer, the mayor doubled up his denials that his 'daughter got knocked up by a drug dealer in Stanley Homes village - false.' 

'My wife beat the bleep out of her, while my son recorded the whole thing, and I just stood there - false,' he said. 

Small also addressed what he referred to as 'the most egregious' of the rumors - that his 'daughter was pregnant with twins, and I beat the s*** out of her so bad that I killed the babies, and I'm gonna be charged with double murder.'

'Now, would you be able to handle this like I'm handling it?' he concluded. 

Small's daughter did not speak at the press conference, which was opened by a reverend quoting Martin Luther King Jr. 

Both parents have been charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and Marty Small is also charged with third-degree terroristic threats, third-degree aggravated assault and disorderly persons simple assault. 

La'Quetta is also charged with disorderly persons simple assault, and Atlantic City High School principal Constance Days-Chapman - a reported close friend of the mayor and his wife - is also facing charges. 

Days-Chapman is accused of failing to notify authorities when the teen told her she was being 'emotionally and physically abused' by her parents. 

Small Sr pictured with his wife La'Quetta, son and daughter  

The mayor's home (pictured) was raided on March 28. He lives at the home with his wife, two children and mother- in-law 

Although he has never been convicted, Small has an arrest record dating back to 1993 when he was charged with drugs distribution offences which were dropped, Atlantic City Press reports.

In 2005 he faced an arson charge which was also dropped. Small has also been indicted twice for voter fraud charges, for which he was acquitted.

After charges were brought, Smalls took to social media to share a close-up selfie, with several hashtags including #unbothered, and #2sides. 

According to a criminal complaint reported by NBC10, the search of Smalls' home - and subsequent charges - were triggered by the mayor's daughter telling a school staffer about the alleged abuse.

In January, Students at Atlantic City High School were receiving mental health training, and were asked to circle faces on a ticket indicating if they were happy, neutral or sad. 

Small's daughter reportedly wrote the word 'abuse' on the back of a neutral ticket, and asked to speak to a counselor. 

She then told a mental health trainer that she had been knocked out with a broom, and described her father as a 'big guy', the complaint said. She added that she had previously told Principal Days-Chapman. 

Days-Chapman claimed to have not been told before, but told the advisor that she would report the alleged abuse to the Department of Child Protection & Permanency. 

The teen also reportedly told a therapist that same day about the abuse throughout December and January, and cops said that she told the therapist: 'I was really stressed, I was crying a lot, I wasn't mentally stable, I wasn't comfortable around them, I just didn't feel safe.' 

Atlantic City High School principal Constance Days-Chapman - a reported close friend of the mayor and his wife - is also facing charges after she allegedly failed to report the abuse to authorities when it was raised by school staff  

Mayor Small denied the claims against him, and insisted it was a 'private family issue' 

When contacted by the therapist, La'Quetta reportedly said that her daughter was struggling with personal issues due to a 'young man' that her parents didn't approve of. 

According to the criminal complaint, she endured two months of abuse over refusing to stop the relationship, including having her legs repeatedly punched by her father, causing bruising. 

La'Quetta allegedly punched her daughter multiple times in the chest, also causing bruising, and also dragging her by her hear and striking her with a belt. 

She is also accused of punching her daughter in the mouth during one incident. 

When the alleged abuse was reported to the NJ Department of Children and Families, it was allegedly noted that it should have already been reported and the meeting was just following up. 

This reportedly led the department to claim that no one from the school ever notified them, the criminal complaint said, leading them to notify the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. 

An interview with the DCP&P, with Small, his wife, daughter and son all present, saw the children deny the abuse with their parents present, NBC10 reported. 

Smalls' daughter allegedly said she was angry with her parents over the relationship and claimed to have made up the abuse allegations. 

Small (pictured with rapper Snoop Dogg) has served as mayor of Atlantic City since 2019 

Small pictured with at his swearing-in ceremony in October 2019 with his daughter 

However, when investigators met her boyfriend, he claimed that she would repeatedly describe incidents when her parents abused her, and included video footage from his cellphone with evidence, the complaint said. 

The boy's mother also reportedly told officers that he had raised the issue with her before. Investigators also found several others, including her cousin who worked at the school and a therapist, who said she had reported abuse to them in recent months. 

On March 28, cops carried out a search of Small's home, which recovered a letter reading: 'Honestly, I'm going for peace, I keep disappointing you all, I'm just going to go. Must hate me for not being perfect. 

'Getting called dumb, crazy, mental and sick hurts but that's okay, I guess I'm the biggest disappointment for defending myself.' 

The search triggered the bizarre press conference from the mayor, before charges were brought, where he stressed that the search of his home and vehicles was a 'private family issue.' 

The press conference, where his daughter was in attendance, saw a string of denials around rumors circulating about the case, including allegations that he 'beat the s***' out of his daughter that prosecutors now claim did happen. 

He also implied that law enforcement officials were targeting his office for political reasons and that the media should connect the dots.

However, Smalls' lawyer said at the end of the conference they were not alleging that the search of the mayor's home was politically motivated, but they were 'not ruling anything out,' as per a report.

Following the charges, the mayor's attorney Ed Jacobs told NBC10: 'The charges filed by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office today make no claims of public corruption or misconduct in office or any failure by Mayor Small, to properly discharge his responsibilities as the mayor of Atlantic City.

'On the contrary, they focus only on personal, private family matters.' 

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.