Atlantic City's mayor took the stand in his own defense Friday, painting a picture of a father desperate to protect his daughter from a damaging relationship.
Marty Small used his time on the stand to let out what he said he has not been able to say for two years, while media reported him as a bad father and child abuser.
As the defendant, he said he knew he did not have to take the stand, but he said, "I owed it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I wanted to look each and every one of you in the eye and tell you their claims are bogus."
Small is accused of abusing his teenage daughter, including knocking her unconscious with a broom Jan. 13, 2024, after they fought over her refusal to go to a peace walk in the city.
"I'm telling you for the first time publicly, I did not abuse my daughter," he said, as his voice broke. "We provided a loving home and all the resources possible. She's just not listening right now."
He then promised, "I'm going to get my daughter back when I win this case."
Small gave his version of the broom incident, which he said happened after his daughter ripped his shirt and threw a bottle of detergent on him.
When he went into her room, where he claimed she brandished a butter knife, Small testified, standing up and making stabbing motions to the jurors.
She then picked up the broom from her bed and came at him, he said, showing how he fended her off and she fell backward, hitting her head and passing out for about 10 seconds.
He said he called his son to bring water, and they sprinkled it on, and she regained consciousness.
During cross-examination, Assistant Prosecutor Chris D'Esposito asked why Small waited three days to take his daughter to the hospital, despite noting that "her eyes were rolled back in her head."
"She said she was fine," Small said.
At that point, D'Esposito referenced Small's earlier testimony that he made the decisions for his daughter based upon her best interests.
"It's not her choice whether to go to the hospital, it's your choice whether she goes," he said.
Small confirmed he went to the peace walk with his son, with his wife staying behind telling him to "go handle your business."
D'Esposito also asked about Small not agreeing that something happened involving a broom until after he was served the charges with the narrative his daughter gave.
Nineteen people took the stand as character witnesses, including real estate developer Bart Blatstein, former schools Superintendent Barry Caldwell, Business Administrator Anthony Swan, and Council members Stephanie Marshall and George Crouch.
They affirmed Small is a "peaceful, non-violent and law-abiding."
After the jury left for the day, the state told the judge that it had a subpoena for Small's son, who was in the courthouse Friday, but did not take the stand.
D'Esposito said they could give it to Small's attorney, since the son is a minor. But it instead was agreed that he will be served the normal way.
When Small first took the stand, he talked of how his daughter had been his best friend.
"Every where I would go, (she) was with me," he said. "We were inseparable. She meant the world to me, and I would do anything to protect her."
That was until her boyfriend came along, he said.
She progressively became more closed off and angry, ignoring what she was told and talking back.
Regardless, Small said he never raised a hand to her, he said.
Responding to every question by attorney Lou Barbone asked listing punching, hitting, using a belt with "absolutely not."
Referencing a recording in which Small can be heard saying he was going to "earth slam" her and grab her by her hair, he did that to try to warn her not as a real threat.
"Don't let my size fool you," Small told the jurors. "I'm a gentle giant as they say."
Small first heard of E.L. when his son teased his daughter about "Chummy" — the boyfriend's nickname — when the family was on vacation.
Small soon would hear several negative things, including drug dealing, stealing cars and stabbing.
The judge advised jurors that those allegations were only to be allowed to give the defendant's frame of mind, and not as factual testimony about the boy.
Small faces accusations that he beat his daughter unconscious with a broom, threatened her and then told her to "twist up" her story after he was criminally charged.
One juror was removed Friday morning due to illness.
The man told the judge that he had been up sick off-and-on all night, and last vomited around 7:30 Friday morning.
He was kept separate from the other jurors and wore a mask when Judge Joseph Levin called him in to question him.
The man said he was feeling OK at the time, but that the feeling would come upon him quickly, and he was worried about having to rush out of the jury box, or infecting other jurors.
He indicated he did want to remain as a juror.
The defense asked to delay trial until Monday, so that the case could proceed with the full 14-juror panel.
But the judge said his concern was that more jurors could get sick the longer things take.
The judge and Barbone already have battled coughs as the trial began, with the jurors also starting to cough and need tissues, Levin noted.
Trial resumes Monday with more character witnesses. Barbone estimated 15 to 20 people.
