Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing.
A student whose assault left a teaching assistant with multiple serious injuries wrote an apology letter before being sentenced to five years in prison.
Brendan Depa was 17 years old at the time of the assault which left teaching assistant Joan Naydich, 59, with five broken ribs, hearing loss, and concussion.
The assault took place at Palm Coast's Matanzas High School in February 2023 after Naydich allegedly threatened to confiscate a Nintendo DS the teenager had been playing with.
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Depa, who has autism, ADHD, and a mood disorder, wrote an apology letter which was not read out in court.
In the letter, shared with NewsNation, he wrote: "Many people have claimed that I feel no remorse for the incident of last year and that I don't take responsibility for my actions.
"This is not true; I am extremely sorry for injuring Miss Joan so severely, and I am happy to see the injuries I inflicted did not leave any permanent scars or bruises.
"In addition, I recognize what I did was wrong and take responsibility for my actions.
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"I deeply regret allowing my emotions to get the best of me and letting things happen the way that they did."
He continued: "I believe what I did should not define who I am. In a choice between letting this incident destroy, define, or strengthen me, I have chosen to let it strengthen me.
"During my incarceration I have learned coping skills to ensure something like this never happens again.
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"I have grown and matured in ways otherwise impossible, making me not happy I have been incarcerated, but nonetheless grateful.
"My eyes have been opened to skills and strategies I would otherwise have been blind to."
He concluded: "I made a mistake - one I will never let happen again - and I am sorry."
Leann Depa, his adoptive mother, has said that she had warned the school about her son's triggers, including that 'electronics' was his biggest.
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She said: "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."
Lawyers for Depa have also filed a separate lawsuit against the school district for negligence in which the teenager is described as a 'ticking time bomb'.
Naydich, meanwhile, has described the severe long term impact of the assault, which resulted in her losing her job and her health insurance.
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She said: "Every day is a challenge. I have lived every day since with the repercussions of it, the assault of it, whether it be hearing loss that I have, vision loss, headaches."
She added: "Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I'm going to have for the rest of my life."
During the sentencing, Depa's mom pleaded with the judge to let him be confined to house arrest and not prison, saying: "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."
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Depa was sentenced to five years in prison, and will have a 15 year period of supervised probation after his release.
The mom described the prison term as a 'death sentence', claiming that her son was being treated harshly due to his race, size, and disability.
She told NewsNation: "He's scared. To have your child call and cry and say 'I don't want to die' — it's awful."
Psychologist Dr Jeff Gardere said that both the student and teaching assistant are victims here.
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He told NewsNation: “This is about the failing of our society, the failings of the schools. This is a person with severe autism. This is the diagnosis in addition to other mental health issues.
“So if you see aggression here, it’s because we’re not taking care of the needs of this individual."
Topics: News, US News, Crime, Mental Health, Court
Kit Roberts