News outlets say that the Florida teen who was caught on video hitting a teacher’s aide after she took his Nintendo Switch was given a five-year state prison term.
On Tuesday, August 6, Brendan Depa, 18, was given a sentence of five years in jail and 15 years of probation by the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court in Flagler County. NBC News, WKMG-TV, and The Daytona Beach News-Journal obtained these sentences.
Judge Terence Perkins also told the Department of Corrections to do a full mental health exam on Depa and make a care plan for him. He also told the teenager not to talk to Joan Naydich, the teacher’s aide.
As reported by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Perkins said that Brendan had not shown any regret for his actions during the punishment. He also brought up Brendan’s history of violence.
According to the news sources, the 18-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated battery on an elected official or education staffer. The attack happened at Matanzas High School in February 2023.
There was a video shown in court of Naydich, the worker, taking Brendan’s Nintendo Switch before he charged at her, hit her, and kicked and punched her. The woman fell asleep on the video while he kept attacking her.
Naydich told the judge that the event had a big effect on her mind as well as her body. She said that she now has worry and post-traumatic stress disorder because of it.
In court, she told the judge, “My life will never be the same as it was before.” “Because of what Brendan Depa did that day, I lost my health insurance, retirement savings, and a job I had for almost 19 years.”
Leanne Depa, Brendan’s mother, said of the term, “They are punishing because he is Black, they are punishing because he is big, and they are punishing because he has a disability.” NBC News and the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported this.
She also said that the school wasn’t following through on the behavior plan they made for her son. She said that she believed her son “needs help” and not “to be put away in a prison where he’s going to be taken advantage of or harmed.”
In court, Perkins said that the 18-year-old would be able to ask for a changed punishment.
