A Florida teen accused of beating his teacher in February 2023 over a Nintendo Switch will soon face sentencing, and the victim wants him to face the maximum term.
Flagler County Judge Terence Perkins is scheduled to sentence Brendan Depa, whom the New York Post described Friday as an autistic student weighing 270 pounds, on January 31.
The victim, Joan Naydich, has stood firm in her position that the young man should face the maximum term in the case.
“He definitely needs to be in jail,” Naydich told the Post, adding, “He needs to be in jail for what he did to me. I’m in my own jail of sorts every single day I wake up.”
When the incident happened, she suffered several broken ribs and a concussion and continues to struggle with hearing and vision issues. Following the beating, she lost her income, health insurance, and benefits.
Breitbart News reported on February 28, 2023, that the student allegedly continued beating the teacher after knocking her unconscious for taking his Nintendo Switch while he was in the classroom at Matanzas High School. The outlet also noted that Depa would be tried as an adult in the case:
Depa, who faces a felony aggravated battery charge, had been arrested for battery on three separate occasions in 2019. Now, Florida’s Seventh District Court has ruled that the six-foot-six, 270-pound student will be held on a $1 million bond and face up to 30 years in prison.
Video shows the violent incident when the teacher was shoved onto the ground and hit repeatedly:
The young man’s adoptive mother, Leanne Depa, claimed it never should have been a criminal case, adding she does not place any blame at the victim’s feet.
“I blame the district. It’s a systemic problem. There is not enough funding, and there’s a shortage of paraprofessionals,” she said.
Naydich was working as a paraprofessional at the high school when the young man was ordered to stop playing with the Nintendo Switch during class, according to Breitbart News.
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