A Northern California woman hosted alcohol-fueled parties for her son’s teen friends and other minors. She provided vodka, Fireball whiskey, beer, and hard seltzers to mostly 13- to 15-year-olds. She gave condoms and encouraged intoxicated attendees to engage in sexual activity. Court documents described her pressuring underage participants to have sex and influencing children to engage in sexual activity with other children. Prosecutors said she discouraged teens from telling parents or police about the parties. A jury found her guilty of 48 charges, including sexual penetration of an intoxicated victim, providing alcohol to a minor, annoying or molesting a child, and attempting to dissuade a witness from reporting a crime. She received a 35-year-and-10-month prison sentence.
"Following a four-month criminal trial, a jury in March found Shannon Marie O'Connor - dubbed the Los Gatos "party mom" - guilty of 48 charges, including sexual penetration of an intoxicated victim, influencing a child to engage in sexual activity with another child, providing alcohol to a minor, annoying or molesting a child and attempting to dissuade a witness from reporting a crime."
"O'Connor, 52, provided vodka, Fireball whiskey, beer and hard seltzers to party attendees, who were mostly 13 to 15 years old, gave them condoms and encouraged them to engage in sexual activity while intoxicated, according to court documents. Prosecutors said she discouraged the teens from telling their parents or police about the parties."
""Ms. O'Connor cast a wide net," Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Peterson said during a sentencing hearing on Thursday. "She groomed, manipulated, provided alcohol to and sexualized successive groups of her son's friends and classmates. When parents became suspicious of her conduct and forbid their children from attending Ms. O'Connor's parties, she reflexively drew other children into her lair.""
"O'Connor dabbed her eyes and nose with tissues as she addressed the court, saying that she regrets what happened and emphasizing that she's never had sexual inclinations toward any minors, including those involved in the case. Her attorney, Stephen Prekoski, told the court that O'Connor's actions were the result of her attempts to improve her teen son's social life during the COVID-19 pandemic."
#criminal-sentencing #sexual-abuse-of-minors #underage-drinking #obstruction-of-reporting #california
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