August 8, 2024
Autistic Teen Who Beat Teacher’s Aide Over Nintendo Game Receives 5 Years In State Prison
Brendan Depa's mother says her son needs treatment, not a prison sentence.
Brendan Depa, an autistic teen from Florida who left a high school teacher’s aide unconscious for taking his Nintendo Switch, will serve five years in state prison, the New York Post reports.
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins handed down the verdict Aug. 6, while Depa held his head back.
Depa was indicted on aggravated battery charges for beating Joan Naydich inside a hallway of Matanzas High School in Palm Coast in Feb. 2023. During the attack, which was caught on camera, the then-17-year-old sprinted toward Naydich and flattened her.
Footage then shows the teen repeatedly stomping on Naydich and punching her 15 times before staff members separated the 6-foot-6-inch, 270 pound Depa from the unconscious teacher. In October 2023, Depa pleaded no contest to the charges and was facing up to 30 years in state prison. However, the sentencing was rescheduled after Perkins said he needed to hear from more witnesses.
According to Newsweek, Naydich asked another teacher to take away Depa’s Nintendo Switch on the day of the attack. After overhearing the plan, the autistic teen allegedly called Naydich a “b****” and “whore” and spat on her as she walked out of the classroom.
Since the attack, Naydich says she has suffered from PTSD and anxiety. “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 during a hearing in May 2024. “Like everything was taken away from me that morning. At 10 o’clock that morning. Everything was taken away. My life will never be what it was before.”
The teen, who suffers from autism spectrum disorder, will serve his jail sentence despite pleas from his adoptive mother, Leanne, and defense attorney.
“They are punishing that he is Black, they are punishing that he is large, and they are punishing his disability,” she said following the sentencing. “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.”
He will also serve 15 years of probation upon his release and will be placed in a group home.
The defendant’s attorney pushed for her client to be tried as a juvenile since he was a minor at the time of the attack, but Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark argued for jail time due to his violent history, listing past battery charges.
Depa’s mother put the blame on the school for not knowing how to properly handle her son’s disabilities. “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,” she claimed.
Depa was ordered to have no contact with Naydich, remaining 500 feet away from her home and work. He can appeal his sentence in writing.
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