Hulking Florida Teen Who Brutally Beat Up Teacher’s Aide Over Nintendo Switch Claims in Letter He 'Made a Mistake'

The Florida high school student who attacked a teacher’s aide during a dispute over a Nintendo Switch has written an apology letter to her and admitted to making a "mistake."

On Aug. 6, a judge sentenced Brendan Depa, 18, to serve five years in prison for felony aggravated battery - bodily harm - for his attack on Joan Naydich in February 2023 at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast.

In the letter Depa titled “Apology" — never read in court but obtained by NewsNation — Depa wrote the victim, “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," he insisted, claiming, "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,” he wrote.

According to NewsNation, Depa has been working with Gene Lopes, a tutor who has encouraged the teenager to realize the effects of the assault.

“He wrote this himself,” Lopes told the publication. “Brendan is a gifted writer, as you can see from this. So this was all him.”

Footage from security cameras at the school show Depa run toward the paraprofessional and shove her to the ground.

Depa, who stands 6 feet 6 inches and weighs around 270 pounds, then stomps on the unconscious educator and punches her 15 times. Several staff members struggled to remove Depa from Naydich and hold him on the floor, the footage shows.

In his apology letter, the teen wrote, “I recognize what I did was wrong and take responsibility for my actions. I deeply regret allowing my emotions to get the best of me and letting things happen the way that they did.”

Despite Depa's words, Judge Terence Perkins said the defendant was remorseless for the attack and pointed out it was not an isolated incident. The teenager reportedly has faced numerous battery charges in the past.

Depa, however, said in the letter that he hopes his conviction would not define him.

“In a choice between letting this incident destroy, define or strengthen me, I have chosen to let it strengthen me,” he wrote. “During my incarceration, I have learned coping skills to ensure something like this never happens again.”

“I made a mistake — one I will never let happen again — and I am sorry," he added.

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After the sentencing hearing, Depa’s adoptive mother, Leanne, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal: “I think he needs help, and I think he needs treatment. But I don’t think he needs to be put away in a prison where he’s going to be taken advantage of or harmed.”

Depa has been diagnosed with autism, ADHD and mood disorder, according to reports.

His mother said several hospitals and group homes offered to take in her son as an alternative to jail.

“He’s scared," She told NewsNation. "To have your child call and cry and say, ‘I don’t want to die’ — it’s awful.”