Florida student who attacked school employee over Nintendo Switch gets 5 years in prison

A Florida student accused of beating a school employee unconscious after she confiscated her Nintendo Switch last year was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday, court records show.

Brendan Depa, 18, pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated assault against an elected official or education employee, according to sentencing documents from the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Flagler County.

Depa, who was 17 at the time of the assault, was also sentenced to 15 years probation.

During Depa’s sentencing, Judge Terence Perkins said Depa has shown no remorse for the attack that occurred on February 21, 2023, at Matanzas High School, north of Daytona Beach.

Video of the incident shows Depa attacking the employee and knocking her to the ground. The video shows her body going limp as he kicked and punched her more than a dozen times.

An arrest report said the employee, Joan Naydich, lost consciousness. In court, Naydich testified that she continues to struggle with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder because of the assault, according to Orlando’s NBC affiliate WESH.

“My life will never be what it was before,” she said, according to the station.

Depa’s mother testified that her son has mental health issues and was asked to remove his electronic devices, the station reported. A court-ordered evaluation found he has autism and several other conditions, according to an order that found him competent to stand trial.

“I think he needs help and treatment,” Leanne Depa told the station after his sentencing. “But I don’t think he needs to be put in a prison where he will be taken advantage of or harmed.”

Leanne Depa told the station that her son’s school district failed him by not following the individualized educational program designed to help with his special needs.

His family’s lawyers sued the district earlier this year, accusing school officials of failing to provide adequate support for their son and helping to trigger the 2023 attack, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by a local TV affiliate, ABC Action News.

The school district declined to comment on the allegations, the station reported. The district superintendent did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.