The mother of a teenager to beat a school employee unconscious has spoken out - and asked for people to show her son "mercy".
Joan Naydich - a teacher at Matanzas High School in Florida - was beaten unconscious by then-17-year-old student Brendan Depa after a member of staff confiscated a Nintendo Switch from him during school hours back in February.
Security footage from the attack shows Depa becoming wildly aggressive and tackling Naydich to the ground before landing multiple punches and kicks, rendering her unconscious.
Depa was later arrested and pleaded no contest as an adult for first-degree aggravated battery.
The 57-year-old suffered multiple injuries at the hands of the brutal attack including several broken ribs, a severe concussion, and hearing loss. Not only that but half of her face was left bruised and scarred after repeated contact with the carpet.
As Naydich has reportedly refused to help the teen’s defense lighten his sentence, the teenager now faces 30 years in prison.
Now, in an emotional interview with News Nation, Depa's mom has called for people to go easy on her son - stating that he should never have been attending the Florida-based high school in the first place.
Speaking about the her son's attack on Naydich, a tearful Leanne Depa said: "Nobody should ever have to go through that. But at the same time, please consider that my son has had a hard life and he's gone through so much trauma in his life."
The mom continued: "He has autism. Please show mercy to him. It's devasting. My heart is breaking, I'm terrified for my child."
The now-18-year-old Brendan has a severe form of autism, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, and reactive explosive disorder.
She then claimed that if her son is sent to prison, it would be a "death sentence for him".
"He's scared. And to have your child call and cry and say 'I don't want to die', it's awful," she added.
Leanne Depa then stated that her son had been in a specialist facility before the pandemic, and that the attack could have been avoided if he had been enrolled in a more suitable education setting.
"I had always homeschooled him because he didn’t handle the school environment. I asked the group home, ‘Did he have to go to public school? Could he not do school online?’ And I was assured by them that all of their clients went to public school," she said.
"I never thought he belonged in public school. I didn’t have a choice."
Naydich is currently living off donations from strangers after being placed on unpaid leave.
"Everybody that knows me or knew me [before the attack] knows that I’m a totally different person now," the teacher's aide told Fox 35. "My whole life was just turned upside down."
"Unfortunately, a lot of my injuries that are not visible I'm going to have for the rest of my life," she said.
"I was attacked on February 21st and I feel like I'm just constantly being attacked," Naydich added, while referencing to the medical and financial hurdles she’s faced in recent months.
Naydich was put on unpaid leave after sustaining the horrific injuries and a GoFundMe page was set up in order to help her continue with her life in the mean time.
"Joan is humble, never asks for help and needs our love/support during this difficult time," read the description. "I've asked her to allow us to do this so that she can rest, heal and spend time with her kids without worrying about financial concerns right now."
The fund has raised a total of $134,000 at the time of writing as donations continue to increase by the hour.
Depa will be sentenced on January 31. He is currently being held on a $1 million bond.
