LOS GATOS, CA — The Los Gatos mother who became known as the "Party Mom" after hosting drunken sex parties for underage teenagers, was sentenced Thursday to 35 years and 10 months in prison, closing a case that has spanned years and shaken the South Bay community, according to a report by KRON4.
The sentence was handed down in Santa Clara County court following several days of emotional victim impact statements, during which survivors confronted Shannon O'Connor directly for the first time in the courtroom. O'Connor had faced a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of more than 50 years in prison.
O'Connor, 51, was convicted in March on more than 60 criminal counts — including 16 felonies — after a 16-week trial. She was found guilty of child endangerment, molestation, dissuading witnesses, and facilitating forcible sexual assault against more than a dozen victims.
O’Connor read a statement before Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Peterson, who decided her sentence Thursday, KRON4 reported.
“I’ve had the chance and the time to reflect on this case and what went wrong. I’m not here to make excuses for my actions. I’m fully aware of how you all feel about me," O'Connor read, according to KRON4. "I have been absent from my own children, missing major milestones and time that I can never get back. I am ashamed. I want you all to know that I live every day wishing I could take everything back, and go back in time, and change it all.”
She continued, “However, there is one thing that does not sit right in my soul. I have never had any sexual inclinations for your children, or toward any minor. In fact, I am the victim of sexual abuse, I would never want to inflict that pain onto others.”
Prosecutors said O'Connor organized secret parties at her Los Gatos mansion during the 2020-2021 school year, plying underage Los Gatos High School freshmen with alcohol and pressuring intoxicated minors into sexual activity. The victims included 12 girls and eight boys. In one instance, prosecutors claimed O'Connor witnessed a sexual assault of an intoxicated teenager in her hot tub and did nothing to stop it. One teen testified that there was no escape from O'Connor's manipulation.
The case had been years in the making. O'Connor was first arrested in October 2021, and a Santa Clara County grand jury indicted her on dozens of felony and misdemeanor charges in November 2023. She rejected a plea deal and went to trial, a decision legal analysts said likely resulted in a longer sentence than what may have otherwise been offered.
The case also prompted the Los Gatos Town Council to pass a new ordinance instituting fines of up to $3,000 for adults who host events where alcohol or drugs are accessible to minors.
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