The Florida teacher who was viciously beaten by a 270-pound student has reportedly refused to help the teen’s defense lighten his sentence.
The incident became a viral video that captured Brendan Depa, then 17, violently pushing Matanzas High School paraprofessional Joan Naydich to the ground and kicking and punching her in the back and head more than a dozen times to the point she became unconscious.
Depa was eventually pulled off of her by other staff.
Following the incident, the autistic teen told investigators he attacked Naydich because teachers ordered him to stop playing a video game on a Nintendo Switch.
He was charged as an adult, and now faces up to 30 years in prison for the first-degree felony charge of aggravated battery.
Flagler Live reported that Naydich has “shown no interest in mitigating what penalties Depa might face.”
Depa will plead guilty to avoid trial, but Judge Terrence Perkins has the option of sentencing him as a youth and handing down a penalty as low as probation. The teen’s disabilities will likely weigh on his decision.
Depa, who is now 18, had three prior battery arrests before the shocking February attack on Naydich, who was treated at a hospital after the assault.
It was also reported that he was involved in a jail fight last month.
Depa, who weighs roughly 270 pounds and stands 6-foot-6, reportedly threatened to kill Naydich during his arrest.
“I’m hopeful that the awareness of this incident being spread far and wide will prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma, physical healing and disruption of everyday life this has caused,” she said on a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $100,000.
I don’t blame her, I wouldn’t advocate on that boys behalf either
You write this as if she should.
Ridiculous. He has been charged for this before, and with his size, I don’t care what issues he has, he is an extreme danger to society. He needs to be locked up for the rest of his life.
The parents are ultimately to blame but unfortunately with their negligence & his bad luck being born deformed, I think of Sparta when they threw undesirables over a cliff to maintain a standard of people in their society.
This teacher needs to heal not help this young man.
This student who happens to be tall and big needs to learn that being a bully has dire consequences.
The teacher needs a good lawyer to take care of business.