A former Florida high school student who knocked a female teacher’s aide out cold over a Nintendo Switch was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison.
Brendan Depa, now 18, was still a minor when he attacked paraprofessional Joan Naydich in a hallway inside Matanzas High School in February 2023. Security footage captured the 6 foot 6 inch-270 pound teenager sprinting towards Naydich before knocking her unconscious, stomping on her, and punching her 15 times.
Depa, who has autism spectrum disorder, was charged with felony aggravated battery charges and after his prison time, will be on 15 years of probation and placed in a group home, Circuit Judge Terence Perkins decided Tuesday. His adoptive mother, Leann Depa, blamed his behavior on the school for not properly handling his disabilities.
Court TV/Flagler County Sherriff’s Office
“They are punishing that he is Black, they are punishing that he is large and they are punishing his disability,” Leanne Depa said after the sentencing the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
“I think he needs help, and I think he needs treatment. But I don’t think he needs to be put away in a prison where he’s going to be taken advantage of or harmed,” she added.
“I had told the school that being hungry was a trigger, that noise was a trigger, that being told ‘no’ was a trigger, that being corrected in front of other people was a trigger, and electronics was a huge trigger,” Leanne Depa said.
On the day of the attack, Naydich had asked another teacher to take away Depa’s Nintendo Switch. When he heard of her plan, Depa allegedly called Naydich a “b****” and “whore” and spat on her as she exited the classroom.
Depa initially pleaded no contest to the charges. His lawyer argued he should be tried as a juvenile since he attacked Naydich when he was still 17. Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark disagreed, claiming the teen had a history of violence. The judge sided with Clark, saying Depa previously had numerous battery charges.
During a May hearing, Naydich stated that she has PTSD and suffers from anxiety because of the attack, according to the New York Post.
“Brendan Depa’s actions that day have caused me to lose a job that I had for almost 19 years, lose my financial security, lose my health insurance,” Naydich said at the time.
“Like everything was taken away from me that morning,” she added. “At 10 o’clock that morning. Everything was taken away. My life will never be what it was before.”
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