MONSTER TEEN
Burly Brendan Depa throws head back in court after pummeling high school teaching aide unconscious over Nintendo Switch
The judge detailed the high school worker's horrifying injuries
A TEEN who savagely beat a teaching aide unconscious was seen throwing his head back as he was sentenced in court to five years in prison.
Shocking footage went viral last year showing Brendan Depa pushing Joan Naydich, a worker at Matanzas High School to the ground before kicking and punching her.
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The teacher sustained a head injury from the fall that left her unconscious as the 6-foot-6, 270-pound student pummeled her 15 times before being restrained by school staff.
Cops arrived on the scene to arrest Depa and found the teacher on the floor with serious injuries.
The teenager told police that he was upset after Naydich took away his Nintendo Switch.
He was charged with felony aggravated battery.
Depa, now 18, was sentenced on Tuesday - he had faced up to 30 years in state prison.
The teen previously pleaded no contest to the charges in October but a new sentencing date was found after Circuit Judge Terence Perkins said he needed to hear from more witnesses.
During the sentencing, which was shared by , Depa threw his head back as Perkins informed the court that the teen would be sentenced as an adult.
With such a charge, the teenager faced a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Depa was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 15 years of probation.
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After his release, Depa, who will by then be in his 20s, will be put in a group home, the judge said, where he will continue to receive mental health treatment.
During the trial, the defense called upon autism disorders specialist Kimberly Spence who told the judge that Depa is "neurologically compromised," per .
Horrifying moment teaching assistant is caught kicking & punching disabled schoolboy, 11, in playground
Depa's team recommended that he be given juvenile sanctions rather than tried as an adult, however, the judge disagreed given the violent nature of the incident.
In his ruling, Perkins spoke of the teaching aide's extensive injuries including a concussion, five broken ribs, and herniated disks in her back.
"What would have happened had Mr. Depa not been pulled off her I don't even want to imagine," the judge said in a video shared by .
"What she does remember now is the pain that was caused by her five broken ribs, her concussion, her herniated disks in her back, her headache and dizziness, her hearing and vision losses, her cognitive problems, PTSD, panic attacks, all of those things."
LOST EVERYTHING
The 59-year-old mother of two previously told the court of the impact of the attack on her quality of life.
Brendan Depa Case - An Overview
Who: Brendan Depa, 18 years old, six foot six, weighing around 270 pounds.
When: February 2023
Where: Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida
Crime: At the age of 17, Depa shoved a teaching aide to the ground, knocking her unconscious before punching her 15 times at repeatedly kicking her.
Victim: Mother of two Joan Naydich, 59, who worked for the school district.
Impact on Victim: Five broken ribs, concussion, herniated disks in her back, headaches and dizziness, hearing and vision losses, cognitive issues, PTSD, and panic attacks.
Pleaded: No Contest
Defense: Depa is on the Autism spectrum and is "neurologically compromised." Attorney also claimed that the school failed to support the teenager with his disabilities despite warnings.
Sentencing: Five years in Florida state prison followed by 15 years of supervised probation.
"Brendan Depa’s actions that day has caused me to lose a job that I had for almost 19 years, lose my financial security, lose my health insurance," Naydich told the court at a hearing in May.
"At 10 o’clock that morning. Everything was taken away. My life will never be what it was before."
Naydich is working for the school district again but not at Matanzas High School.
When the judge gave his reasoning for why he did not agree with the recommendation of juvenile sanctions, he said that he "had no confidence that they would handle this appropriately moving forward."
"Frankly two years by the testimony of all three expert witnesses is not going to provide sufficient treatment in that regard," Perkins said.
The judge then explained how after discounting that recommendation he was left with two options under adult sanctions - a youthful offender sanction or criminal adult sanctioning.
Perkins noted his belief that a youthful offender sanctioning "would not be appropriate because of the nature of the charge and how this incident occurred."
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.
Leanne Depa
So, with criminal adult sanctioning being the judge's other option, Perkins handed down the punishment to Depa.
As the judge laid out plans to address Depa's health issues while in custody, the teenager bowed his head and held his hands together as if in prayer.
Seconds before the sentencing, Depa had his head dropped to his chest and appeared to have his eyes closed.
He is to have no contact with Naydich and must stay at least 500 feet away from where she lives and where she works.
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Meanwhile, his adoptive mother Leanne Depa has hit out at the school and the judge following his 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," she said, per the
"They are punishing that he is Black, they are punishing that he is large and they are punishing his disability," she claimed.
Speaking of the school's alleged failings to help her son deal with his autism, Leanne said that she had detailed his various triggers and that ahead of the incident, these had allegedly been ignored.
What would have happened had Mr. Depa not been pulled off her I don't even want to imagine.
Terence Perkins
"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 said.
Court documents seen by the show Depa's attorneys claiming that "school and staff working with him and the district knew that the electronics, especially the Nintendo and its use on a school campus was a trigger for escalating behaviors."
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The filing added that Depa was "a ticking time bomb" whose needs were "completely disregarded" by the school district.
Depa's team can appeal the sentence in writing if they choose to do so.
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