‘I Don’t Think He’ll Survive Prison’: Mother of 270-Pound Autistic Teen Sentenced for Brutal Assault Says He Paid the Price for Being a Big, Black Boy After Judge Rejects Her Plea for House Arrest

Brendan Depa, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound Black teenager who brutally assaulted a teacher’s aide in Florida last year, was sentenced to five years in state prison and 15 years of probation on Tuesday, despite the pleas of his adoptive mother to let him stay home and get treatment for his severe autism and other behavioral disorders. The 18-year-old was facing up to 30 years in prison for aggravated battery against Joan Naydich, a paraprofessional at his high school in Palm Coast, whom he knocked unconscious, punched and kicked after she denied him access to a video game controller on Feb. 21, 2023. He pleaded no contest. A shocking viral video of the attack quickly branded Depa a “monster schoolboy” and served as compelling evidence in the case that the state brought against him. Leanne Depa begs for mercy from the courts as her son faces 30 years in attack of Florida High School teacher. (Photo: Facebook/Leanne Depa) Naydich, 59, suffered five broken ribs, a herniated disk, a concussion and loss of hearing after Depa kicked and punched her 15 times. “Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I’m going to have for the rest of my life,” Naydich...