Prison time for Florida teen who beat teacher over Nintendo Switch would be ‘death sentence’: tearful mom - Mom playing the autism card. But will it work?

Article / Archive

The mother of the hulking Florida teen who beat his female teacher unconscious over a Nintendo Switch video game claimed prison time would be a “death sentence” for her convicted son.

Leanne Depa pleaded for leniency for the now-18-year-old Brendan Depa, who faces up to 30 years behind bars for slamming Matanzas High School paraprofessional Joan Naydich to the floor before kicking and punching her in the back and head more than a dozen times.

In her first public appearance since the February beatdown, the grieving mother Wednesday begged Naydich to request that the 6-foot-6 teenager be handed a lighter punishment.

“I am so sorry for what my son did and nobody should ever have to go through that,” Leanna Depa said on an appearance on NewsNation’s “Banfield” through tears.

“But at the same time, please consider that my son has had a hard life and he’s gone through so much trauma in his life. He has autism. Please show mercy to him.”

Brendan Depa pleaded guilty last month to beating Naydich over the video game when he was just 17, leaving her with five broken ribs, hearing loss and what she claims are ongoing cognitive problems.

The disturbing incident — and teachers’ futile attempts to stop the attack — was captured on the school’s surveillance footage.

Brendan Depa faces up to 30 years in prison for the brutal attack. Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Naydich has previously told NewsNation that she wants her attacker sentenced to the maximum of 30 years behind bars.

“I feel like if he gets sentenced to prison, it’s a death sentence for him. He’s scared. And to have your child call and cry and say, ‘I don’t want to die’ — it’s awful,” Leanne Depa said.

The mourning mom blamed a laundry list of mental disabilities and a history of childhood trauma for her son’s behavior — and questioned why he was even permitted inside the Florida public school.

Leanne Depa pleaded for leniency for her son during a NewsNation interview. NewsNation

Leanne Depa claimed that jail time would be a “death sentence” for her autistic teenager. Leanne Depa
Brendan Depa — who grapples with severe autism, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder and reactive explosive disorder — was placed in the school by his intensive behavioral group home despite his time at an autism behavioral hospital just two years earlier, she said.

“I had always homeschooled him because he didn’t handle the school environment. I asked the group home, ‘Did he have to go to public school? Could he not do school online?’ And I was assured by them that all of their clients went to public school,” Leanne Depa said.

“I never thought he belonged in public school. I didn’t have a choice.”

Leanne Depa added that he should have never been near the Nintendo Switch during school hours and that a crisis team is typically called before professionals take the game away.

Naydich said she had never taken the game away from the teenager, but that he lashed out after another faculty member prohibited him from playing with it.

Brendan Depa’s behavioral issues, particularly his autism, do not constitute a defense in Florida, according to the mother.

Victim Joan Naydich said she wants her attacker to receive the maximum sentence of 30 years behind bars. David Tucker\News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The teenager was initially charged as a juvenile before the federal raps were upgraded.

The troubled teen had three prior battery arrests before the assault on Naydich and was reportedly involved in a jail fight in September.

Brendan Depa is being held on a $1 million bond. His sentencing hearing will begin in January.

Here's a bonus for you, sick bastards.

 

[Dragged Into Sunlight]

Mainstreaming tards has been a disaster for education. I heard about this one case where a tard who was 9 years old but already sexually mature and physically imposing repeatedly raped another sped boy anally because the wranglers were too busy fucking around on their phones to properly supervise their charges. The poor victim had to drop out of school because everyone knew about it, and he and his grandma had to take the settlement the school district gave them and move out of town, because they were in public housing and the kid literally couldn't go outside without being tormented about what happened to him. I don't know what ever happened to him, but the rapist graduated to adults and raped a couple of elderly women during break-ins. It turned out that Mommy's boyfriend had been raping him for years and he was obviously acting out what had happened to him.

There was a girl at my school that had a degenerative neurological disorder that would make it so she would be dead before 18.

The school spent 40k a year just to hire an aide that took her from class to class and let her pretend to learn.

 

[Cpl. Long Dong Silver]

Mainstreaming tards has been a disaster for education. I heard about this one case where a tard who was 9 years old but already sexually mature and physically imposing repeatedly raped another sped boy anally because the wranglers were too busy fucking around on their phones to properly supervise their charges. The poor victim had to drop out of school because everyone knew about it, and he and his grandma had to take the settlement the school district gave them and move out of town, because they were in public housing and the kid literally couldn't go outside without being tormented about what happened to him. I don't know what ever happened to him, but the rapist graduated to adults and raped a couple of elderly women during break-ins. It turned out that Mommy's boyfriend had been raping him for years and he was obviously acting out what had happened to him.

Retarded Anal Rapist would be a pretty good band name.

 

[Sexy Peach Emoji]

manifestation of his emotional behavioral disability and his tendency to overreact aggressively to perceived slights.”

Is that a new definition of nigga moment?

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Retarded Anal Rapist would be a pretty good band name.

If I ever start a pornogrind band, I'm calling it Retarded Anal Rapist.

 

[Mitt Doggy Dogg]

Shit this kid is big as a adult, send his ass to real jail not some juvy shit. And how is it a literal death sentence the boy might learn a thing about respect that his parents didn't teach him. I can't wait for the next murderer to pull the I have autism you can't send me to jail it would be a death sentence defense

 

[kcbbq]

Its the US court system, what did you expect, a speedy trial or something? Lol, no, that doesn't happen here.

The trial part is done already.

 

[Tiny Chinaman]

So its illegal to be a gamer now???!!!!???

 

[Marc]

Retards like that are coddled spoiled brats that need to absolutely have negative consequences for their actions without random third parties jumping in to enable them.

Apparently, the masses are unwilling to use the Internet for any other purpose, and have no other values to pass on.

 

[whatever I feel like]

The trial part is done already.

Sentencing is part of it. The trial is over but they won't decide on it until August? Ridiculous.

 

[Hamstirer]

Retarded Anal Rapist would be a pretty good band name.

R.A.pist for short

 

[Bakarina]

So its illegal to be a gamer now???!!!!???

Only when you beat someone to unconsciousness when you're forced to put down the game (this was the kid's FOURTH aggravated assault incident. He had 3 prior to this case and I think and a another one during the period of time he was locked up).

 

[Tiny Chinaman]

Only when you beat someone to unconsciousness when you're forced to put down the game (this was the kid's FOURTH aggravated assault incident. He had 3 prior to this case and I think and a another one during the period of time he was locked up).

Why cant they let a nigger game?

 

[glass_houses]

There was a girl at my school that had a degenerative neurological disorder that would make it so she would be dead before 18.

The school spent 40k a year just to hire an aide that took her from class to class and let her pretend to learn.

I'm good with that. If it enriched her life and she enjoyed being at school and she wasn't dangerous to others, I see no reason why she shouldn't have attended classes. The other option would be her staying at home all day in her wheelchair and staring at the tv, and who wants to do that if you're going to be dead before you're legally able to smoke, drink or have sex?

 

[Sneak 'n' Snore]

I feel like there is a case to be made that you can survive just fine in prison when you're fucking 6'6 and can brutalise someone this badly with your fists alone.

 

[frozen_runner]

Sentencing is part of it. The trial is over but they won't decide on it until August? Ridiculous.

He needs time to finish his bingbingwahoos.

 

[Otterly]

constant assaults by speds to young women in the field. They have to learn many types of holds and escalations as part of the job but it seems like its never enough, I've taken reports of 6 year old kids overpowering grown women.

Old flatmate of mine was a specialist caseworker with troubled kids. She was taught all the holds and that but was of the opinion that these big physically strong kids should never ever be one on one with anyone much less a small woman. There used to be more men in the field she told me but it had changed to mainly women and the kids got more troubled each year, and bigger and more violent. There’s a point past which you need to have someone or more than one person physically able to deal with them, and past another point they need to be institutionalised. Almost no places left like that though.

 

[isalaide]

We've all seen the video of the attack. This young man will be absolutely fine in jail

 

[CHARizard]

Old flatmate of mine was a specialist caseworker with troubled kids. She was taught all the holds and that but was of the opinion that these big physically strong kids should never ever be one on one with anyone much less a small woman. There used to be more men in the field she told me but it had changed to mainly women and the kids got more troubled each year, and bigger and more violent. There’s a point past which you need to have someone or more than one person physically able to deal with them, and past another point they need to be institutionalised. Almost no places left like that though.

Thanks for reminding me of this thread, I actually just interviewed another. It took THREE women to do a restraining hold and move a client having a "behavior". They spent 20 minutes in this hold causing one of the women to get injured from the strain of it all for an extended amount of time.

This was a young boy btw, not a grown man that they had to restrain. Eventually he got tired and they were able to switch to a two person hold and were able to get him transported into one of their safety rooms where he could continue his "behavior" without injuring anyone else.

 

[Sailor Kim Jong Moon]

Old flatmate of mine was a specialist caseworker with troubled kids. She was taught all the holds and that but was of the opinion that these big physically strong kids should never ever be one on one with anyone much less a small woman. There used to be more men in the field she told me but it had changed to mainly women and the kids got more troubled each year, and bigger and more violent. There’s a point past which you need to have someone or more than one person physically able to deal with them, and past another point they need to be institutionalised. Almost no places left like that though.

PL but I also worked in a juvenile detention center - specifically for sex offenders. Ages 9-18.

I was a thin, blonde woman in my early 20s. Weighed less than 110 pounds and pretty tall. Needless to say, I was really physically weak. And the other staff would make fun of me for looking like a kid myself.

The only unit I was allowed to work was the little boy unit. I still broke up fights and dealt with SAO. My boss would never allow me on on the unit with boys 13+. The minute any of these boys had testosterone, they would have to move to a more secure unit.

He also tried to keep me off the female units. Some of the sex trafficked girls were more than happy to jump you and beat you for the chance of escape.

The main problem on the little boy unit was that it was often ran solo. Just me and 10 boys with a history of violent rape and assault. (But they’re 9-11 years old! Yeah, and they also nearly killed other children and threatened to murder court officials.)

I could be breaking up one fight - and while distracted - have another little boy being raped by a peer. It was incredibly unfair to the boys and unfair to me. Plus holds for larger and stronger kids require two people. And biters and spitters require three.

Not to mention when the radios broke they expected you to use your phone to text out an emergency. Yeah, let me just unlock my iPhone while getting my face broke in. And when my iPhone gets smashed in, are you gonna pay for it?

And did I mention the older boys would try to jam the locks to prevent the emergency unit from accessing the floor when females did have to pass through?

Anyway. The shit I have seen. And remember: these are all kids.

These facilities cut corners and they do not care if your bones are broken, your hair is scalped, or if chemicals get tossed in your eyes. Legislation should be passed to require more oversight but that would also require people giving a shit.

 

[TotalNematodeDeath]

Working at one of these schools really is sad, it truly is just daycare. You'll maybe get 1 in 10 kids who gained the skills enough to live even a half normal life as an adult. Regardless of any effort on your part you just can't change that most of these kids can change in some capacity but refuse to.