The Florida teenager who was captured on film attacking a teacher’s aide after she took away his Nintendo Switch has been sentenced to five years in state prison.
Brendan Depa, 18, who has autism, was sentenced to five years in jail and 15 years probation on Tuesday, August 6, according to sentencing documents acquired by NBC News, WKMG-TV, and The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Judge Terence Perkins also ordered the Department of Corrections to undertake a complete mental health assessment of Depa and develop a care plan for him, as well as prohibit the adolescent from contacting the teacher’s assistant, Joan Naydich.
According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Perkins stated in the sentence that Brendan had not shown regret for his acts, and he also mentioned Brendan’s previous history of violence. According to the sources, the 18-year-old pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated violence on an elected official or education professional in connection with the incident that occurred at Matanzas High School in February of 2023.
In court, the video showed the employee, Naydich, snatching Brendan’s Nintendo Switch before charging at her, knocking her to the ground, and kicking and hitting her. The footage showed the victim falling unconscious as he continued to attack.
Naydich testified in court that the experience had a severe psychological and physical impact on her and that as a result, she suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“My life will never be the same,” she stated in court, according to NBC News and WKMG-TV. “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.”
Brendan’s mother, Leanne Depa, blasted the sentencing, stating, “They are punishing him for being Black, large, and disabled,” according to NBC News and the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
She claimed that the school failed to ensure that the behavioral plan set for her son was implemented and that she believed her kid “needs help,” rather than being “put away in a prison where he’ll be taken advantage of or harmed.”
Perkins stated in court that the 18-year-old would be entitled to appeal his sentence.