Harrowing images released by a Florida teacher show the brutal facial injuries that she suffered at the hands of 270 pound teenage student at the school where she worked as an aide.
Joan Naydich was violently attacked by Brendan Depa, then 17 years old, at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, 60 miles south of Jacksonville, in February after she told him to stop playing on his Nintendo Switch.
The autistic 6-foot 6-inch teen, now 18, was seen punching and kicking the educator in the back and head until she lay on the ground unconscious. He pleaded no contest as an adult for first-degree aggravated battery.
As he faces sentencing on January 31, Naydich has called on the judge to give him the maximum 30 years in prison.
Her injuries included five broken ribs, concussion and a loss of hearing. The new pictures show gashes on the aide’s cheek, bruising around the eyes, one blood shot eye, a dent in her nose and a tear at the back of her ear.
In a new interview with Fox Orlando, Naydich said the worst injuries are internal and that the attack deeply affected her cognitive functions. ‘Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I’m going to have for the rest of my life,’ she said.
The educator said she has been struggling to get her workers’ compensation case resolved.
She claimed she returned to work in August under a different title but was placed on unpaid leave just a few days later.
Naydich said she is frustrated with the lack of support from the Flagler County school district. She revealed she has not watched the video since it was released and does not want to.
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Throw that student into prison for 20 years and make them pay the price
I had heard this stated wrongly up until this article.
All this time I thought he sought her out BECAUSE she took his toy away from him.
Autism is NOT the same as mental retardation.
Autistic people are not as able to think in terms of words but use actions instead.
His actions (not all autistics) are violent and probably cannot ever be unlearned.
He needs to be kept away from decent people.
Due to the prior battery arrests, this school should be kissing Naydich’s ass until her hat bounces. She should sue the living shit out of the school for having a violent time bomb like this there.
And Sue those violent youths and their parents for every penny they have
Weird (and incorrect) generalization.
Actually straight from an autistic fact sheet.
And I should not have said all of them, because it’s just most of them.
It certainly is the case in this 18-year old’s life.
This is what teachers face; violent outbursts with little or no support from administration. There’s always an excuse for the student’s violent behavior. If this thug is capable of playing video games, he’s capable of being held accountable for destroying, and almost taking, a life.