6'6" Teen Who Brutally Beat Aide Over Nintendo Switch Gets Lenient Sentence

The 6'6," 270-pound teenager who brutally assaulted a teacher's aid was sentenced to five years in prison . Brendan Depa , who was 17 at the time of the 2023 attack, pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in October and faced up to 30 years in prison.

Depa, who has autism spectrum disorder, was supposed to be sentenced in May 2024, but Judge Terence Perkins delayed the sentencing to hear from additional witnesses.

Teacher's aide Joan Naydich , 59, testified how the assault, which occurred because she asked another teacher to take away a Nintendo Switch from Depa, changed her life.

"Brendan Depa's actions that day has caused me to lose a job that I had for almost 19 years, lose my financial security, lose my health insurance," she told the court .

The brutal assault left Naydich unconscious and covered in bruises. She suffered five broken ribs, a concussion, and a loss of hearing after Depa kicked and punched her in the head 15 times.

"Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I'm going to have for the rest of my life," Naydich added.

However, Judge Perkins appeared to be swayed to hand out a lenient sentence to Depa after hearing from his adoptive mother, who explained that her son suffered from mental illness and had a "laundry list" of triggers that school officials knew about.

"I had told the school that being hungry was a trigger, that noise was a trigger, that being told no was a trigger, that being corrected in front of other people was a trigger, and electronics was a huge trigger," Leann Depa told the court .

"I knew Brendan, and I knew his triggers, and I knew his needs and his strengths, and I beg you to let him come home with me," she said, asking that he be sentenced to house arrest instead of going to jail.

Judge Perkins said that in addition to five years in jail, Depa faces 15 years of supervised probation once he is released. He also ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to conduct a complete mental health evaluation of Depa and create a plan to care for his disabilities while he is incarcerated.