FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla — A student with autism from Tampa who attacked a teacher's aide in Flagler County was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, followed by 15 years supervised probation.
Video of the February 2023 attack inside Matanzas High School went viral, capturing the moment Brendan Depa, 17 years old at the time, attacked Joan Naydich, a teacher's aide, knocking her unconscious. He then began kicking and punching her before several others rushed in to help. The trigger? Talk of taking away his Nintendo Switch.
Naydich said she suffered five broken ribs, a concussion, vision and hearing loss, and was diagnosed with PTSD.
The ABC Action News I-Team began looking into the case after his mother, Leanne Depa, reached out last year, saying prison is not the place for her special needs son.
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No one was arguing there shouldn't be consequences for the attack. The debate was over what the proper punishment should be, given his numerous diagnosed disabilities.
At Brendan's sentencing hearing, Naydich said her life will never be what it was before.
“I think that Brendan should pay for what he did. There are consequences in life to bad actions, bad choices. He made the choice that day to come after me," she said.
Victim speaks at sentencing hearing for Flagler County teen with autism who attacked teacher's aide
Brendan's mother, Leanne, who adopted him as an infant and raised him in Tampa, pleaded on behalf of her special needs son, who has autism and was living in a group home at the time of the attack. Documents show Brendan was also diagnosed with sensory disorder, behavior/impulse control disorder, mood disorder and ADHD.
“Brendan has — he’s had a hard life. He started out as a foster care baby who struggled," Leanne told the judge during the sentencing hearing. "He struggles with autism and behavioral issues, but before that year, when we had just extreme chaos from medical stuff going on, I was able to manage Brendan. Because I knew Brendan. And I knew his triggers. I knew his needs and his strengths. And I beg you to let him come home with me. I want my son back.”
Brendan's defense pushed for juvenile sanctions, which would end when he turns 21.
“He’s 18 years old, judge, he was 17 when this happened, he is disabled," Brendan's attorney said.
Judge Terence R. Perkins said, “What would have happened had Mr. Depa not been pulled off of her — I, I don’t want to even imagine in that regard.”
Ultimately, the judge did not feel juvenile sanctions were sufficient and sentenced Brendan to 60 months followed by 15 years probation under the Department of Corrections.
“Once Mr. Depa is stabilized, the court would consider home healthcare options similar to the types that I’ve heard here today. But stability, safety, routine will be the earmarks of the court sentence in this case," Perkins said.
The next day, Leanne told the I-Team she was disappointed in the five-year sentence.
Depa could have gotten up to 30 years in prison.
The Autism Society of America's Autism Justice Center issued a statement on August 13 condemning the sentence. It said in part,
“Let us not forsake our most marginalized and vulnerable citizens due to a lack of understanding or implicit biases” states Carlean Ponder, Director of the Autism Justice Center at the Autism Society. “The Autism Justice Center calls for a reevaluation of Brendan Depa’s case and urges the judicial system to consider his disability and the appropriate interventions he needs.”