MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife, who is the seaside gambling resort’s schools superintendent, pleaded not guilty Thursday to beating and abusing their teenage daughter, with a lawyer saying that “parenting struggles are not criminal events.”

Mayor Marty Small Sr. and La’Quetta Small, who oversee a half-billion dollars in taxpayer money, were indicted last month on child endangerment and other charges. Prosecutors said both parents hit and emotionally abused the girl, who was 15 to 16 years old, in December and January, at least once to the point of unconsciousness.

Both are charged with child endangerment, and Marty Small, 50, is also charged with assault and terroristic threats. Small has denied the charges on behalf of himself and his wife, calling them a private family matter that did not constitute a crime.

Small, a Democrat, and his wife did not speak in court or outside afterward. The mayor’s lawyer, Ed Jacobs, issued a statement calling the couple “entirely innocent” parents targeted by prosecutors for their prominent public roles.

“The high profiles earned by Marty and La’Quetta present an opportunity for a headline-grabbing investigation, even if that means meddling into personal and private family matters such as a mom and dad doing their best to manage the challenges of raising a teenage child,” the statement read. “We are confident that fair-minded jurors will quickly see that parenting struggles are not criminal events, and will agree on the innocence of both Marty and La’Quetta.”

On the day he and his wife were indicted, Small told The Associated Press that he was eager to have the facts examined and that his daughter continues to live at home.

“All people have heard is one side of the story,” he said. “We look forward to telling our side.”

Their indictment Sept. 17 came less than a week after the principal of Atlantic City High School was charged with counts stemming from the same case. Constance Days-Chapman is accused of failing to report the abuse allegations to state child welfare authorities. She is a close friend of the Smalls, and La’Quetta Small is her boss.

According to the indictment, in December the girl, who was 15 at the time, told Days-Chapman she was suffering headaches from beatings by her parents. But instead of telling authorities, the indictment says, Days-Chapman instead told the Smalls.

Her lawyer says she is innocent, and she pleaded not guilty at a court appearance last week.

Prosecutors filed court documents in April saying the Smalls disapproved of their daughter’s boyfriend, who secretly used a video chat to record an alleged instance of the mayor physically and verbally assaulting the girl.

An affidavit from prosecutors says the girl at one point acknowledged making up the accusations because she was angry her parents wouldn’t let her go out with friends. But in other sections, the document includes detailed claims by the girl that the abuse was real, and it said she photographed bruises and sent them to her boyfriend, who shared them with detectives.

The office of prosecutor William Reynolds cited evidence including recordings of interactions between the girl and her parents; her statements to police, school workers, a therapist and state child welfare investigators; and messages she sent to friends saying she did not feel safe at home.

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Parry is a reporter/photographer for The Associated Press in New Jersey. He covers Atlantic City, the nationwide sports betting and casino industries, the Jersey Shore, the environment, and classic rock and heavy metal.

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