Content warning: This story contains disturbing descriptions of alleged sexual abuse.
The alleged victims of the woman known as “party mom” whoallegedly hosted alcohol-fueled parties and watched her teenage guests have seximplored a judge to give her the maximum sentence if she pleads guilty.
They spoke emotionally about how starting in June 2020 through the spring of 2021, O’Connor allegedly hosted parties for her teenage son and his friends, “facilitating and watching” their sex acts, some of which were non-consensual.
“This woman tore my life apart,” one victim, identified as Jane Doe 8, said in her impact statement, KRON4 reports. “I have suffered and had to deal with the reputation of being ‘the girl that got raped.’ I will live my high school years with this cloud over me.”
Shannon Marie OConnor.Santa clara district attorney
O’Connor allegedly encouraged sex acts among the teens –– whose ages at the time ranged from 13 to 16 years old, prosecutors said.
She is charged with 39 criminal counts including felony child abuse, sexual assault and providing alcohol to minors for hosting the parties, which she allegedly attempted to keep secret, according to the criminal complaint filed with theSanta Clara County Superior Court,
If convicted of all 39 charges, she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
She pleaded not guilty.
Her attorneys are seeking a prison sentence of eight years or less, KRON4 reports.
But on Friday, some of her alleged victims and parents asked the judge to give her the maximum punishment, KRON4 reports.
She has been held behind bars without bail for more than a year since her arrest while awaiting trial KRON4 reports.
‘Very Sick Individual’
On Friday, the teens and their parents told the court how O’Connor allegedly lured them to her home for wild parties through social media and her two teenaged sons, KRON4 reports.
O’Connor allegedly allowed her teenage party guests to drink and have sex for own sexual gratification, prosecutors said.
She allegedly asked the teens to keep quiet about the disturbing parties and even lie to their parents about them, prosecutors said.
O’Connor “bought vodka and Fireball whiskey, provided condoms and discouraged the teens from telling their parents about the parties or calling for help when one of them passed out in their own vomit, thestatement of factsstate,” District Attorney Jeff Rosensaid in a previous news release.
In some cases, O’Connor “would Snapchat or text teens to leave their homes in the middle of the night and drink at her home,” the DA further alleged.
Later in 2021, O’Connor moved to Idaho. When O’Connor was arrested there in October 2021, she had allegedly hosted a sleepover for 12 underaged teens.
“Shannon continued these parties in Idaho,” Jane Doe 4’s mother told the judge Friday, KRON4 reports. “She’s a very sick individual and a sexual predator. She taught our daughter how to drink like a rock star. She was only 14, had never had alcohol and never had a boyfriend. It’s disgusting to me.”
On multiple occasions, O’Connor allegedly urged intoxicated minors into sexual situations, even watching and laughing as “a drunk teen sexually battered a young girl in bed” during a New Year’s Eve party, Rosen said in the release.
In another case, O’Connor allegedly brought an intoxicated male teen into a bedroom where a drunk 14-year-old girl was lying in bed. After her alleged assault, authorities say the girl asked O’Connor, “Why did you leave me in there with him? Like why did you like do that? Like you knew like what he was going to do me,” the DA said in the release.
O’Connor allegedly threw the parties without the knowledge of her now-estranged husband, who has since filed for divorce,The Mercury Newsreports.
Her attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
