Lawyers for a huge autistic kid from Florida claimed that their client was a “ticking time bomb” in a petition against the school earlier this week, after the teen beat his teacher’s assistant senseless over a video game.
According to the New York Post, Brendan Depa’s legal team accused the Flagler County School District of failing to provide for the boy’s needs prior to the February 2023 attack. Joan Naydich, a paraprofessional, had a serious concussion, five fractured ribs, and hearing loss as a result of the vicious attack.
Depa now faces up to 30 years in jail as a result of his no-contest plea to the beating that was shown on camera inside the school. The boy’s lawyers counter that the incident only occurred as a result of many district infractions, which caused “substantial injury” to the teenager.
The petition, which Flagler Live was able to get, says that “the district should be held to account for its errors, which have irrevocably impacted the direction of this young man’s life.”
The attorneys alleged that Naydich requested a beating after reprimanding Depa in front of his classmates, in addition to blaming the school district. She then threatened to take away his Nintendo Switch, which resulted in an argument between them.
Depa then spat on Naydich. He followed the paraprofessional out of the classroom to report him for assault, which is when he launched the horrifying attack.
The petition claimed that B.D. was free to do as he pleased with little to no interference or repercussions, and that the school needed to step in.
The appeal stated that allowing B.D. to escalate further only led to the paraprofessional’s injury and B.D.’s arrest.
“B.D. would not have hurt the paraprofessional, would not have been jailed, and would not have faced a lengthy jail sentence if these concerns had been resolved in real time.”
According to the petition, B.D. was a ticking time bomb.
Depa’s legal team is requesting “compensatory education” and funding to admit the adolescent into a behavioral therapy school for children with issues, in addition to asserting that the adolescent received no education while incarcerated.
Depa will appear in court on Wednesday to receive his sentence.
