A woman from California, labeled as “Party Mom” by officials, has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term after prosecutors accused her of providing alcohol to teenagers and encouraging sexual activities among them, often when they were too inebriated to give consent.
Shannon O’Connor, aged 52, received a sentence of 35 years and 10 months on May 29, following her conviction for felony child abuse in March, as reported in a statement from the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office.
“This isn’t about a lenient parent offering wine spritzers to kids. She orchestrated perilous and drunken encounters among these minors. Her actions endangered their lives and inflicted lasting trauma,” stated District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “Shannon O’Connor is not a party mom; she is a convicted felon and a registered sex offender.”
Prior to her sentencing, O’Connor expressed remorse in court, addressing her victims directly.
“My actions caused your suffering, and I am deeply ashamed,” she admitted, as reported by ABC 7. “I live every day knowing I was the cause.”
What Was “Party Mom” Shannon O’Connor Accused Of?
Prosecutors said O’Connor hosted “drunken and destructive parties “for teens over a two-year period beginning in 2020, often warning those in attendance not to tell anyone or she could go to jail.
“Defendant supplied excessive amounts of alcohol to her son and his minor friends to the point where minors would vomit, be unable to stand, and fall unconscious,” prosecutors wrote in a statement of facts. “When these minors were extremely intoxicated from the alcohol, she encouraged them to engage in sexual activity with each other, facilitated sexual encounters, and watched some of these sexual encounters.”
During one party, O’Connor gave an underage teen a condom and pushed him in a room with an intoxicated minor, prosecutors said in the release. Then, at a New Year’s Eve bash, she “watched and laughed as a drunk teen sexually battered a young girl in bed,” prosecutors said.
“In another case, the defendant brought one drunk teen into a bedroom, where an intoxicated 14-year-old girl was lying in the bed,” prosecutors said in the release. “After she was assaulted, the victim said to the defendant: ‘Why did you leave me in there with him? Like, you knew like what he was going to do to me.’”
In another December 2020 incident, O’Connor drove a group of intoxicated boys around and then encouraged one of the minors to drive her SUV through the high school parking lot as two other teens hung onto the back, per the statement of facts. One of the teens fell off and got a concussion. Then, as others tried to pick up the unconscious teen and place him the vehicle, he was repeatedly dropped.
The mom of two of the victims identified as Jane Doe 8 and Jane Doe 9 called her a “monster” in court, according to ABC 7, adding, “You preyed upon my daughter by supplying her alcohol, enticing sexual situation, and pushing her when she was not in a place to consent.”
Victims Confront Shannon O’Connor About the Abuse in Court
During the multiple day sentencing hearing, victims addressed O’Connor in court, revealing the lasting impacts of the abuse.
“I wish I could say that every memory with you has been healed with time,” Jane Doe 12 told her, per the news outlet, “but I still find myself crying myself to sleep over the way that you took complete advantage of me.”
Another victim, referred to as Rylan Doe, said she found a suicide note in her bedroom with O’Connor’s name on it and told O’Connor in court, ”That is the impact you had on my life.”
Others spoke of the resilience they’d found in the aftermath of the abuse.
“I refuse to let her live in my head any longer. I refuse to let these repercussions consume me, and I refuse to be a victim of hers,” Jane Doe 7 said during the sentencing, per ABC 7. “She may have taken my voice away when I was just a little kid, but she has now created a platform for it.”
As another victim told her, per the outlet, ”Shannon O’Connor held me prisoner for almost six years. It’s her turn to serve a very long sentence in jail.”
Shannon O’Connor Apologizes to Victims in Court
In her own comments to the court, O’Connor said the years since her arrest have given her time to think about her behavior.
“I’m not here to make excuses for my actions. I’m fully aware about how you all feel about me,” she said, according to NBC News. “I know that you all entrusted me and I let you all down. Because of my actions or lack thereof I have been absent from my own children, missing major milestone and time that I can never get back. They as well as your sons and daughters have suffered. They have lived these past five years parentless.”
She went on to add that she hoped her prison sentence would provide her victims with some measure of closure.
“I am not sorry for myself, I am sorry for all of you and what I put you through,” O’Connor said per ABC 7. “But as I look at you all today, I hope you can find some comfort knowing that I have been punished and will continue to be for years to come.”
Her attorney Stephen Prekoski told Oxygen that they plan to appeal.
“She never had a meaningful opportunity to settle this case,” he told NBC News. “I’m not persuaded by those that believe that she was not remorseful. I’m not persuaded by those that believe she didn’t take accountability for her actions.”