MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — Prosecutors have announced they won't proceed with a child abuse trial against Atlantic City's superintendent of schools, just weeks after her husband — the seaside gambling resort's mayor — was acquitted in the case.
La’Quetta Small had been accused along with her husband, Mayor Marty Small Sr., of endangering and physically abusing their teenage daughter. She was to have been tried separately in the spring, but the viability of the prosecution was thrown into question last month when a jury found the mayor not guilty.
The decision to abandon the case came after the couple's daughter, who turned 18 earlier this month, determined she no longer wanted the case to proceed, Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds announced late Friday. Prosecutors also moved to drop charges against Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman, who had been charged with failing to report the teen’s abuse claim to state child welfare officials.
“Based on her wishes, keeping in mind the prior not guilty verdict, and in an attempt not to re‑victimize (the daughter) again with trials against her mother and longtime family friend, we believe it is prudent and responsible to dismiss the remaining indictments,” Reynolds said.
Both women had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors made the dismissal request to a state judge Friday, but it wasn't clear Tuesday when a ruling on it would be made.
La’Quetta Small, 49, was scheduled to stand trial in April on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault. Her attorney. Michael Schreiber, said he was pleased with the prosecutors' decision, adding that the matter should have been handled by counselors or in family court.
Marty Small, 51, was acquitted of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, making terroristic threats and witness tampering. Prosecutors had said he asked his daughter to recant claims she made to law enforcement officials that he had abused her.
Just weeks before his trial began, Small was reelected to a four-year term in the Democratic stronghold, posting a 24-percentage-point win over his Republican challenger. During his testimony, Small denied ever harming his child.
FILE - La'Quetta Small, the superintendent of schools for Atlantic City, waits for her court appearance to start in Mays Landing, N.J., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, on charges that she and her husband, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. beat and abused their teenage daughter. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Campaigning began Thursday for Bangladesh’s first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina's ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country's law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman is launching his campaign in the northwestern city of Sylhet with an address to a rally later Thursday and is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP are set to begin their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking campaigning for voters to support what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding, but the supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, looks at an exhibit during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, second right, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, second left, watch an audio visual during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, center left, looks at an exhibit during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, inaugurate the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
