Florida teacher says she didn’t confiscate student’s Nintendo Switch before vile beating
The Florida teacher’s aide who was brutally attacked by a 270-pound student denied her teenage assailant’s claims that she sparked the classroom beatdown when she confiscated his Nintendo Switch.
Joan Naydich, a paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, made the revelation Monday as she continues to recover from being slammed to the floor and stomped on 15 times.
“I just want to set the record straight. I never took the Nintendo Switch from him. From anyone that’s read or heard differently, I’ve been told this was unfortunately misinformation,” Naydich said, according to a fundraiser launched for her recovery.
Brendan Depa, 17, told cops he launched his tirade on Naydich after she took his handheld game console during class.
Disturbing video shows the hulking, 6-foot-6 teenager exacting his revenge on the mother of two in the school hallway.
Depa can be seen sprinting toward Naydich and shoving her to the floor, knocking her unconscious immediately.
The teenager continues to beat Naydich’s limp body as stunned students and teachers try to break up the violence.
It took four adults to pry the massive student off Naydich, the footage shows.
Naydich was rushed to a nearby hospital and has since been released but said she is “overwhelmed with the idea of the long fight ahead.”
“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 that this has caused,” Naydich said on GoFundMe, where more than $66,000 has been raised for her.
Depa — who allegedly told cops he was “going to kill her” when he is released from custody — will be tried as an adult for aggravated battery on a school board employee, a charge punishable by up to 30 years behind bars.
The troubled teen has a violent past and was arrested three times for simple battery in 2019.
Depa is considered behaviorally disabled and requires specially designed instruction and related services as a so-called “exceptional student.”