FL Teacher Beaten By 270-Pound Student Lives Off Donations: Reports

FLAGLER COUNTY, FL — A Florida teacher's aide who was violently assaulted by a student at a Flagler County school earlier this year said she is living off donations from concerned community members after the district placed her on an unpaid leave of absence following the attack, according to reports.

On Feb. 21, Brendan Depa — a student at Matanzas High School who was 17 years old at the time and weighed 270 pounds — attacked Joan Naydich in a brutal beating that was captured on surveillance video.

In the graphic video, Depa is seen attacking Naydich and pushing her down. As she lay motionless on the floor, Depa repeatedly punched and kicked her before multiple bystanders pulled him from her.

In an interview with the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Naydich said the attack left her with a traumatic brain injury. She suffered five broken ribs and has hearing and vision problems.

Naydich told multiple outlets that Depa attacked her because he thought she planned to take his Nintendo Switch.

"And all I remember is walking to the door and my hand on the doorknob. And that's the last I remember until coming to, the last real full thing I remember until coming to at the hospital," Naydich told the News-Journal.

Depa, now 18, was charged with aggravated battery of a school employee, according to court records. He entered a no-contest plea at an October hearing and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, where he could face up to 30 years in prison.

During court proceedings, two experts concluded that Depa had autism spectrum disorder but also called him a "bright young man," the News-Journal reported. He also has other conditions, including oppositional defiant disorder and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum.

In an interview with Fox 35 Orlando, Naydich said she returned to work and a new role following the attack. The Flagler County School District placed her on unpaid leave just days later. She also told the station she's been struggling to resolve her workers' compensation case.

The Flagler County School District declined to comment on Naydich's claims, citing possible legal proceedings.

"Everybody that knows me or knew me [before the attack] knows that I'm a totally different person now," she told Fox 35. "My whole life was just turned upside down."

Meanwhile, Naydich told Fox 35 she's been unable to find work and has been living off donations from a GoFundMe fundraiser, which has raised nearly $123,000.

Naydich also said that Depa should receive the maximum sentence for his actions.

"I laid there for dead, and how many times he came back at me to make sure or to finish me off or whatever," Naydich told the News-Journal. "He was thinking that day. There's no excuse. And I think that he should serve every last day."