The mother of a Florida teen who attacked a teacher’s assistant until she was unconscious is pleading for the court to show him mercy as serving time in jail for him would be a “death sentence.”
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Leanne Depa asked the court to be lenient on her son, Brendan Depa, 18, who is facing 30 years in prison for assaulting and attacking Joan Naydich while she was down. Brendan previously pled no contest as an adult last month for first-degree aggravated violence, according to Yahoo! News. The teen’s case prompted social media debate after security video of the Feb. 21 incident showed him violently beating Naydich on the head and back after another staff member took his Nintendo Switch. Naydich suffered five broken ribs and hearing loss, and she claims she has had cognitive challenges since.
The teen’s mother apologized for his actions and said his intensive behavioral group home should’ve never placed him in a public school setting: “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. 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,“
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He previously had three arrests for battery and was written up in jail for fighting in September. Brendan was clinically diagnosed with autism, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, and reactive explosive disorder. However, his condition cannot be part of his legal defense. He has been charged as an adult due to his legal age, and his charges have been upgraded. He is currently on a $1 million bond as his sentencing is scheduled for January.
