This video is so difficult to watch. Brendan Depa is a teen with autism who beat his teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch. He pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in January.
NEW: The mother of Brendan Depa, the 6ft 6in teen who beat his teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch, is pleading for the teacher to "show mercy" on her son.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 1, 2023
Depa's adoptive mom, Leanne Depa, says sentencing her autistic son to prison will be a "death sentence."
Depa is… pic.twitter.com/T2fBkeICBl
The full tweet reads:
Depa is facing up to 30 years in prison for the attack as the teacher, Joan Naydich, is still recovering from the trauma.
"I am so sorry for what my son did. Nobody should ever have to go through that... please consider he has had a hard life and he has gone through so much trauma in his life," Leanne Depa said.
"He has autism. Please show mercy to him."
Naydich is reportedly refusing to help Depa get a lighter sentence and says she hopes this case will "prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma."
And The New York Post has more details:
The mother of the hulking Florida teen who beat his female teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch video game claimed prison time would be a “death sentence” for her convicted son.
Leanne Depa pleaded for leniency for the now-18-year-old Brendan Depa, who faces up to 30 years behind bars for slamming Matanzas High School paraprofessional Joan Naydich to the floor before kicking and punching her in the back and head more than a dozen times.
In her first public appearance since the February beatdown, the grieving mother Wednesday begged Naydich to request that the 6-foot-6 teenager be handed a lighter punishment.
“I am so sorry for what my son did and nobody should ever have to go through that,” Leanna Depa said on an appearance on NewsNation’s “Banfield” through tears.
We sympathize with the mom, because we're mothers.
But this crime was so horrific. Joan Naydich, the paraprofessional, suffered broken ribs, hearing loss, and a severe concussion. She reports ongoing cognitive and speech issues. Months after the attack, she briefly returned to the school but has been on unpaid leave since August and relying on donations. She also says she hasn't heard about her worker's compensation claim, and feels the school district has 'abandoned' her.
The New York Post reported back in November:
The Florida teacher who was beaten unconscious by a hulking teen student over a video game said she’s now forced to live off donations — and wants no mercy shown for her attacker at his upcoming sentencing.
“Everybody that knows me or knew me [before the attack] knows that I’m a totally different person now,” Joan Naydich told Fox 35. “My whole life was just turned upside down.”
Then 17 years old and standing 6 feet 6, Brendan Depa assaulted the paraprofessional inside Matanzas High School in February, leaving her with five broken ribs, a severe concussion and hearing loss.
Naydich told the station that she wants Depa sentenced to a maximum of 30 years behind bars for the stomach-churning incident that left her physically and emotionally broken.
Naydich said her speech has slowed and that she suffers from ongoing cognitive problems.
“Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I’m going to have for the rest of my life,” she said.
Compounding her physical ailments, Naydich said she is struggling to get her workers’ compensation case resolved and has been all but abandoned by the Flagler County School District since the attack.
The system failed both Depa and Naydich.
Unfortunately, the system cannot go to prison, and Depa can, and probably will.
He shouldn't have been in that school
— TheRightGuy (@TheRightGuy101) December 1, 2023
No, he probably shouldn't have been. Again, the system has failed him and will continue to fail lots of students like him.
Given that her son is huge, incredibly violent and has no self-control, it's reasonable to conclude that leaving him in society would be a death sentence for other people. He does deserve prison and putting him there is probably the best way to protect innocent people from him
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) December 1, 2023
Again, the system never should have let it get this far. There was a diagnosed history of behavioral disturbance, and yet he was put in a public school that did not provide adequate staffing and support.
If he does this in public school after being homeschooled for most of his life, then he'll do this to the public.
— Nicole Solas, Sued by the Teachers Union (@Nicoletta0602) December 1, 2023
There's no IEP for real life. If he's not in prison he'll kill someone next.
That's the danger; his behavior is uncontrolled and at 18, he won't have a school environment to even attempt to mitigate his temper. He is a risk to public safety.
I'm sorry he's disabled and there is no way that poor teacher should have been in that position since he clearly needed to be in a specialized environment.
— ֍ Rachel 🇺🇸🇦🇲☦️ (@RaychelTania) December 1, 2023
It's just sad all the way around and whatever systems are in place clearly failed everyone.
Yes, all of this.
The woman was nearly beaten to death. No. https://t.co/8hVr7F3xEA
— Mother of Pitbulls (@Evie_B2) December 1, 2023
It was also, apparently, his fourth assault at the school.
one, the teacher didn't take the toy
— PollySolipsism (@PollySpin) December 1, 2023
two, he could have done this to your child
three, bring back state schools for those who can't handle a classroom without a Nintendo
no child left behind, etc has been a disaster https://t.co/IGNAVTcOsX
We agree. Especially about No Child Left Behind.
Autism is no excuse to beat someone to a pulp. Sorry, but if he's that autistic then he should have been in special education with constant supervision. This mother failed her child. https://t.co/EyfTG9v5ok
— Heidi (@HeidiBriones) December 2, 2023
There was failure all around.
As a former special-education teacher, I have to note: Autism is not and should not be used as a blanket excuse for immoral and illegal behavior.
— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) December 1, 2023
Plenty of autistic kids go through school without beating their teachers near to death.
Penal consequences are warranted here. https://t.co/t2VBgMxHGs
Consequences are warranted.
I feel bad for the adopted mother. According to her the behavioral group home made the decision to put him in school.
— Rebecca Loyd (@NSanctification) December 1, 2023
BUT she needs to face the reality that her son is a violent rage monster and can't be with other people ever again.https://t.co/wAt3hZDpsx https://t.co/dd6sO6sBjA
But she's the mother and she could have vetoed the decision to put him in the school. She has that authority.
we can agree that the system failed him by forcing him into an environment that didn’t meet his needs AND not place blame on the woman that was almost beaten to death especially since she wasn’t the one that took the game from him https://t.co/eFJr2NdcXs
— jen (@acklesjens) December 2, 2023
And how many of us didn't know that this teacher wasn't the one who took the game away from him? His rage was directed at an innocent bystander; this doesn't bode well for his behavior in public.
The entire system failed this kid and his mom. He shouldn’t have assaulted that teacher obviously but apparently they forced him into this environment and nobody properly accommodated to him which triggered this. Now they’re trying to lock him up for it instead of helping him https://t.co/Xq5WVmRyPI
— Null Comms Open! (3/7) (@NullVoxxed) December 2, 2023
At the end of the day: he's a 6'6" man who beat a woman, and this was his fourth assault at the school. We wonder what the judge will do come sentencing in January.
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