Los Gatos ‘Party Mom,’ Accused of Throwing Boozy Teen Sex Bashes, Pleads Not Guilty to 63 Counts

A California woman known as the Los Gatos “Party Mom” has pleaded not guilty to 63 counts after she was accused of throwing parties for teens and encouraging them to have sex.

Shannon O’Connor, 49, pleaded not guilty through her defense to 20 felony charges and 43 misdemeanors, including endangering the health of a child, sexual battery, annoying or molesting a child, child endangerment, and furnishing alcohol to a minor, at her arraignment Monday.

She was initially charged with 39 counts in October 2021 by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors allege that O’Connor hosted boozy sex parties for teenagers, including her own teen sons, behind her husband’s back from the summer of 2020 to February 2021. As reported by KRON-TV, she allegedly served teen girls large amounts of alcohol and encouraged them to have “sexual encounters” with boys.

Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise alleged that O’Connor would text or message the teens on Snapchat about the parties, and would even help them sneak out of their homes without their parents knowing.

A news release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office stated that O'Connor allegedly "encouraged sex acts, sometimes non-consensual, and sometimes while she watched." The release also stated that she supplied the teens with condoms.

According to court documents, O’Connor manipulated the 14-year-old students for her own “sexual gratification.” Investigators allegedly found Google searches for “hot 16 (year) old teenage girls” in O’Connor’s phone before she was arrested.

Mercury News reported that 17 victims — listed as Jane and John Does — testified at the grand jury hearing without any cross-examination. While O’Connor’s attorneys argue that the jurors were deprived of defense evidence, Wise said that it was unfair and traumatic for the victims to be forced to testify again.

“It’s really a tough process for these kids to talk about what happened,” the mother of one of the teen girls told Mercury News. “It’s been delayed and delayed and delayed. We just wanted to move it along. This waiting is really painful and difficult, and these kids want to move on. This happened when they were freshmen, and now they’re seniors.”

Wise told reporters that O’Connor is now facing even more charges as additional crimes against minors were uncovered during an ongoing investigation. If convicted, Wise said O’Connor could face up to 31 years in prison.

O'Connor is expected to appear back in court Dec. 26 to set a date for her trial.