County asked to seek investigation, state charges in Atlantic City child sex abuse case

“This is much broader than Atlantic City,” said Craig Callaway, of Atlantic City. “We don’t know how many child victims there are. When he was arrested they found thousands of pornographic videos and photos of children.”

Callaway, his brother David, Atlantic City resident Steve Young and Mays Landing foster mother Tracey Thompson asked the board to pass a resolution demanding a state investigation of how the abuse happened, and how the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency hired Frazier as a caseworker after Frazier was fired from Atlantic City schools.

“We are calling on Gov. Phil Murphy to investigate state entities and hold everyone accountable, starting with Kayan Frazier,” said Young.

Frazier was never charged under state law with child rape or other crimes, Callaway said. Frazier’s charges were all federal.

Frazier is the cousin of La’Quetta Small, wife of Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. La’Quetta Small was principal of the Pennsylvania Avenue School when Frazier was a substitute teacher there, and Frazier was later found to have abused one of the students from that school.

La’Quetta Small, now superintendent of Atlantic City schools, fired Frazier after finding out he was spending time outside of school with the boy and having “sleepovers” with him.

Frazier pleaded guilty in February to one count of child exploitation involving sexual abuse and child pornography, and in July was sentenced to 20 years and one month in federal prison. Callaway said Frazier should be in jail for the rest of his life.

“He was 28 when he was sentenced (actually he was 29 and had already served two years), so he’ll be 47 to 48 years old when gets out. That’s a younger person,” said Callaway, a longtime political foe of Mayor Small, as is Young.

State charges of child rape and other crimes would keep Frazier in jail longer, Callaway said.

“I’m a licensed foster mother. I have two foster children now,” said Thompson. “We are trying to say this man never got charged with raping, manipulating (and harming) these children.”

She asked why that never happened, “if we are trying to take predators off the street.”

Commissioner Frank X. Balles, a retired police captain and former Atlantic County sheriff, said law enforcement sometimes goes for broader charges to put a serious offender away for a long time, so children don’t have to testify and go through the legal system for years.

“A lot of time they don’t want to revictimize children,” Balles said.

“We don’t know how many victims there are,” Callaway said. “My bigger concern is the state didn’t do a proper investigation to find out how (Frazier) was hired by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. How did that happen?”

“I agree 100% on that,” Balles said, adding the board will consider a resolution but could not do it without some time and thought.

It was while he was in the state job, and living in a Somers Point apartment, that Frazier was arrested in April 2019 on federal charges to which he later pleaded guilty.

In a raid of Frazier’s apartment, the FBI found enormous amounts of child pornography, some involving the Atlantic City boy he met while a substitute teacher.

The mother of that child, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, is suing the Smalls, the Atlantic City school district and others. She has not sued the state.

Thompson said she is aware of other mothers who had interaction with Frazier and who are frightened their children may have been abused.

“I don’t care if he’s in state prison or federal prison. He needs to be in somebody’s prison,” Thompson said of Frazier. “We’ll look up and this man will be younger than me out there on the streets.”