A 47-year-old woman who allegedly hosted alcohol-fueled parties for her teenage son and his friends — gatherings where incidents of sexual abuse reportedly occurred — faces 39 criminal counts, including felony charges of child abuse and sexual assault.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced the charges Monday against Shannon O’Connor, a former Los Gatos, California, resident who has since moved in Idaho. O’Connor is also accused of providing alcohol to minors as well as a separate felony fraud charge for making more than $120,000 in unauthorized charges on a company card.
The statement of facts outlines prosecutors’ case against O’Connor, who is alleged to have hosted the drunken co-ed house parties beginning in the summer of 2020, when she provided her then-15-year-old son and his friends with “copious” amounts of alcohol. These parties continued to escalate until December 2020, when O’Connor began orchestrating what prosecutors allege was sexual assault.
“On or around December 2020, Jane Doe 4 was present and intoxicated at Defendant’s residence. Jane Doe 4 was laying on a bed in the residence due to her level of intoxication,” investigators wrote in the statement of facts. “Defendant handed a condom to an intoxicated minor boy and pushed him into the bedroom with Jane Doe 4,” who “afraid, ran, and locked herself in the bathroom.”
Later that month, during a New Year’s Eve party, O’Connor “watched and laughed as a drunk teen sexually battered a young girl in bed.”
“Defendant would facilitate minors sneaking out of their homes during the middle of the night… without their parent’s knowledge or consent,” the statement of facts continued. “She would communicate with minors via Snapchat or text message, and then pick up the minors down the street from their home and drive them to her residence. She would then provide them with alcohol.”
Eventually, when news of O’Connor’s parties reached the Los Gatos High School board, she and her son persuaded a pair of John Does who were scheduled to meet with the vice principal to lie about the situation.
“It took a lot of brave children to come forward and to untangle this deeply disturbing case,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “As a parent, I’m shocked. As the DA, I’m determined to hold those adults who endanger children fully accountable to the law and our community.”