Prosecutors urged the maximum 20-year sentence for a Los Gatos "party mom" who was charged with hosting drunken parties for her teen son and his friends, as she tried to change her plea deal.
New allegations have now surfaced against the woman, claiming she tried to evade prosecution, hid assets, started a sexual relationship with a female inmate and smuggled drugs into jail.
O'Connor Arrested in October 2021
Shannon O'Connor, 48, was arrested in October 2021 for allegedly throwing the booze-fueled parties for her 15-year-old son and his friends, all of whom were students at Los Gatos High, as previously reported. She allegedly befriended many of the kids, and reportedly communicated with them on Snapchat, telling them to keep the parties a secret from their parents.
She also, allegedly, encouraged the teens to have sex with each other, and specifically facilitated boys (including her son) having sexual contact with very intoxicated girls. Some of the girls claimed they were sexually assaulted at the parties. There are also charges that she stalked and harassed at least one teenage girl.
O'Connor Seeking 8-Year-Sentence in Exchange for Guilty Plea
O'Connor had pleaded not guilty, and she's been in jail now for nearly two years. Earlier this week, O'Connor seeked to potentially switch her plea, inquiring of a Santa Clara County judge how long her sentence might be if she pleaded guilty.
As KRON4 reports, Her attorney has apparently sought a deal of eight years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea, in order to avoid trial — though O'Connor could face a maximum of 20 years, and she faces 39 separate charges involving victims between the ages of 13 and 15.
Prosecutors Allege O'Connor's Sexual Relationship with Inmate, Drug-Smuggling Operation in Jail
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office filed a motion Friday laying out arguments for a maximum penalty for O'Connor, which included a number of new details about her teen party organizing and new allegations of impropriety since her arrest, as reported by Mercury News.
Among those new allegations was that, while in jail, O'Connor "began a sexual relationship with another female inmate," referred to only as M.J., who was released earlier this year.
Between February and April, the court filing said, O'Connor and M.J. "came up with a plan to smuggle drugs into the jail" in which "they regularly discussed having M.J. send 'happy cards' to various people in the jail." M.J. "said that she would put an '8 ball' in each card," prosecutors alleged, saying it was a reference to an eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine.
According to prosecutors, O'Connor and her girlfriend agreed they would charge inmates $130 for those "happy cards." They discussed their plans to sell drugs — timing, logistics, customers, pricing and manufacture — extensively across dozens of different recorded jail calls for an extended period
O'Connor at one point told M.J.: "You just get a card here and I'll sell it. I already got customers" and congratulated herself on a plan she described as "brilliant" to smuggle the drugs into the jail through the mail channels reserved for inmate correspondence with lawyers to avoid detection.
O'Connor Tried to Evade Prosecution by Moving to Idaho, Tried to Hide Her Assets
Prosecutors further alleged that when she was arrested, O'Connor immediately worked with her second husband, to shield any of her money and other assets from possible financial penalties that could result from her legal woes.
Prosecutors also alleged that O'Connor had relocated to Idaho, where two of the teen girl victims live, to evade prosecution as police investigated her teen-party schemes. This was among the Google searches she'd made on her mobile phone at the time: "Can I get prosecuted in California if I live in idaho."
Judge Peterson set a May 5 informal discussion in her chambers with the attorneys to discuss what her sentencing decision would be, and a May 16 hearing in open court for O'Connor to decide whether to plead guilty and accept the judge's proposed sentence or request a preliminary hearing and proceed toward trial.
