Just a few months after an 18-year-old student named Brendan Depa beat up his teacher violently, he has finally pleaded guilty to his actions, find out more about his parents
Brendan Depa reportedly beat up his teacher unconscious after she stopped him from playing Nintendo Switch.
Who is Brendan Depa Florida student who beat teacher Joan Naydich over Nintendo Switch in viral video and who are his parents
JUST IN: Florida teen who beat a teacher unconscious for taking away his Nintendo has pleaded guilty to the felony charge against him.
Brendan Depa faces up to 30 years in prison for the brutal beating. His sentence will be determined in January.
The teacher Joan Naydich is… pic.twitter.com/cITJlW82dD
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 1, 2023
JUST IN: The high school teacher who was beaten unconscious by a 270 pound student after she told him to get off of his Nintendo, is reportedly refusing to help the defense lighten the sentence for the teen.
Good for her 🔥
The student, Brendan Depa, is facing up to a whopping… pic.twitter.com/VYq6iXm38X
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 25, 2023
Following the assault, the female teacher was left unconscious and eventually taken to the hospital for treatment.
Brendan Depa pleads guilty
Earlier this year in February, at Matanzas High School, the then 17-year-old Brendan Depa, attacked his high school teacher, Joan Naydich, after she told the boy to stop playing his Nintendo Switch in his class. Following the incident, a video of the assault went viral online. The video showed Depa, who roughly weighs around 270 pounds kicking and punching the teacher in the back numerous times. Depa only stopped after other staff members eventually intervened.
According to reports, Depa even ‘threatened to kill’ the high school teacher during his arrest. Depa, who has now turned 18, confessed to his crimes while appearing in court on Monday, October 30, 2023. As a result, he faces a first-degree felony charge of aggravated battery. The court initially charged him as a juvenile and would have received a lesser sentence, but now he faces up to 30 years in prison.
Now that Brendan Depa has pleaded guilty, Judge Terrence Perkins will now determine the final decision on his sentence at a hearing next year in January. The upcoming proceedings will include witness testimony for both the prosecution and defense. Notably, Depa’s attorneys have stressed their client’s mental condition by arguing that he wasn’t ready to stand trial earlier this week.
Leanne Depa, Brendan’s mother, spoke on behalf of her son, her husband of 25 years and the rest of their family, now breaking their silence on the matter.
“It saddens us when things in our schools don’t always go right or as planned. Our family is filled with concern for Ms. Joan Naydich, and we continue to pray for her swift recovery. Our whole family was horrified by what she endured. Nobody deserves this. We are sincerely sorry for our son’s actions. We support the needs of students, educators, and staff to feel secure in their school environment.”
Naydich not backing down
Meanwhile, reports claim that the victim, Naydich, has “shown no interest in mitigating what penalties Depa might face”. Moreover, besides making news for pleading guilty, Brendan Depa just recently got into a brawl in jail last month, with already three battery arrests before. While previous reports state that Naydich personally confiscated the Nintendo Switch from Depa, she has denied doing so in many “interviews. Following the attack, a GoFundMe page has been set up for the teacher for “support and encouragement”. As of now, the page has raised over $104,000 to date.
Naydich stated on the page:
I’m hopeful that the awareness of this incident being spread far and wide will prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma, physical healing and disruption of everyday life this has caused.”