A teaching assistant who was brutally knocked unconscious after being punched and kicked by a huge 6ft 6ins student has denied confiscating the boy's Nintendo Switch. Joan Naydich, 57 fell to the floor after she was allegedly attacked by 17-year-old Brendan Depa on February 21 at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast in Florida, US.
The 19-stone student who now faces an aggravated battery charge told police he had gone into a fit of fury after the staff member took his Nintendo console away from him. However, Joan claims she has never seized his Switch device as she said she 'wanted to set the record straight', the Mirror reports.
She has spoken her truth on a GoFundMe page to help aid her recovery which was set up by her friends and family. Since the page launched there has been over $62,000 (£49,000) raised for Joan which has left her feeling 'overwhelmed' by the immense support she has received.
The 57-year-old is now recovering at home after she was released from hospital following the horrendous attack. The mum wrote: "For all you keyboard warriors, I just want to set the record straight. I never took the Nintendo Switch from him.
"From anyone that's read or heard differently, I've been told this was unfortunately misinformation. As the process continues, there will be many updates along the way!
"Your thoughts and prayers through all of this are appreciated more than you know." The enormous 17-year-old was seen battering the mum-of-two to the ground on CCTV and then proceeding to kick her before staff intervened and wrestled him off the teaching assistant.
Writing on the GoFundMe launch, Joan thanked everyone for their support and said: "your contributions are lessening that burden and I'm truly grateful!" She added: "I'm hopeful that the awareness of this incident being spread far and wide will prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma, physical healing and disruption of everyday life that this has caused.
"It's touching to know that so many care. This certainly wasn't how I saw my son's senior year turning out for our family."
Brendan, who can be named after the Seventh Judicial Court of Florida ruled that he would be sent to an adult court, is being held on a $1million (£835,000) bond. He is facing up to 30 years in jail if found guilty of first-degree felony.
The state attorney alleges that: "Brendan did actually and intentionally touch or strike (the victim) against the will of (her) and in doing so used a deadly weapon, and/or intentionally or knowingly caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement."
Sheriff Staly said: "This student is just six months shy of age 18, and it was also a brutal attack on this teacher. Fortunately, this didn't result in a fatality.
"This could be a homicide we are talking about." Brendan has been ordered by the court to not attempt to contact the victim and will appear in court on March 6 to hear the charges against him.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
