The mother of the burly Florida teenager who knocked his female teacher unconscious in a Nintendo Switch video game has claimed a prison sentence would be a “death sentence” for her convicted son.
Leanne Depa is appealing for a reduced sentence for 18-year-old Brendan Depa, who faces up to 30 years in prison 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 defeat, the grieving mother on Wednesday pleaded with Naydich to ask that the 6-foot-6 teenager be given a lighter sentence.
“I’m so sorry for what my son did and no one should have to go through that,” Leanna Depa said in an appearance on NewsNation’s “Banfield” through tears.
“But at the same time, please consider that my son had a difficult life and he went through a lot of trauma in his life. He has autism. Please show him mercy.”
Brendan Depa pleaded guilty last month to beating Naydich over a video game when he was just 17, leaving him with five broken ribs, hearing loss and what he claims are ongoing cognitive problems.
The disturbing incident – and the teacher’s futile attempt to stop the attack – was caught on school surveillance footage.
Brendan Depa faces up to 30 years in prison for the brutal attack. Nigel Cook/News-Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK
Naydich previously told NewsNation that he wanted his attacker to be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
“I think if he is sentenced to prison, it is a death sentence for him. He was afraid. And to have your child call and cry and say, ‘I don’t want to die’ — it’s horrible,” Leanne Depa said.
The grieving mother blamed a laundry list of mental disabilities and a history of childhood trauma for her son’s behavior — and questioned why he was allowed into a Florida public school.
Leanne Depa claims that jail time would be a “death sentence” for her autistic teenager. Leanne Depa
Brendan Depa – who struggles with severe autism, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder and reactive explosive disorder – was placed at the school in his intensive behavioral group home despite being in an autism behavioral hospital just two years earlier, he said.
“I always teach him at home because he doesn’t control the school environment. I asked the group at home, ‘Does he have to go to public school? Can he not go to school online?’ And I was assured by them that all their customers go to public schools,” said Leanne Depa.
“I didn’t think he belonged in a public school. I have no choice.”
Leanne Depa added that she should never have been near the Nintendo Switch during school hours and that the crisis team was usually called before professionals took the game away.
Naydich said he never took the game away from the teenager, but he lashed out after another faculty member forbade him from playing with it.
Brendan Depa’s behavioral issues, particularly autism, did 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 in prison. David Tucker\News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
The teenager was initially charged as a juvenile in the case before the federal rap was upgraded.
The troubled teenager had three battery arrests before the attack on Naydich and was reportedly involved in a prison fight in September.
Brendan Depa is being held on $1 million bond. His sentencing hearing will begin in January.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
