The 17-year-old student who brutally beat a teacher’s aide speaks out after being sentenced to five years in prison.

His adoptive mother has claimed the punishment was because he is Black, ‘They are punishing that he is Black, they are punishing that he is large and they are punishing his disability’

The boy identified as Brendan Depa was seen in a video brutally attacked Joan Naydich, a paraprofessional, at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, FL, on February 21, 2023 ‘

I deeply regret allowing my emotions to get the best of me and letting things happen the way that they did.

The letter reads ‘In a choice between letting this incident destroy, define, or strengthen me, I have chosen to let it strengthen me.’

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins said Depa showed no remorse and noted the violence of the attack and his violent history.

“What I did should not define who I am, I made a mistake – one I will never let happen again – and I am sorry”,connfensed Depa.

it reads ‘During my incarceration, I have learned coping skills to ensure something like this never happens again.

“I have grown and matured in ways otherwise impossible