A 52-year-old Los Gatos woman was sentenced Thursday to 35 years and 10 months in prison for hosting parties for teens where she bought alcohol and encouraged sex acts, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Shannon O’Connor, who is also known as Shannon Bruga, was arrested and charged in 2021. A jury convicted her in March on 48 counts, including two felony sex charges.
Prosecutors said she bought vodka and whiskey, provided condoms, and discouraged the teens from telling their parents or police about the parties — or calling for help when one of the victims passed out in their own vomit.
The teens at the parties, which took place in 2020 and early 2021, were mostly 14 and 15 years old, authorities said.
Thursday’s sentence followed two days of testimony from the victims, including one young woman who told the court she became suicidal from the trauma.
During a New Year’s Eve party, O’Connor watched and laughed as a drunk teen sexually battered a young girl in bed, prosecutors said. In another case she brought a drunk teen to a bedroom where an intoxicated 14-year-old girl was lying in the bed and was then assaulted, according to the district attorney’s office.
“Many people call this defendant the ‘Los Gatos Party Mom.’ This isn’t some fun parent giving sips of wine spritzers to kids,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “She facilitated dangerous and drunken sex acts with these children. She risked their lives and damaged their psyches. She is not a party mom. Shannon O’Connor is a convicted felon. Shannon O’Connor is a registered sex offender.”
Prosecutors said that in some cases, O’Connor would Snapchat or text teens to leave their homes in the middle of the night and drink at her house.
In another case, she let a minor drive her SUV in the Los Gatos High School parking lot while two other teens held on to the back. One fell off and was knocked unconscious, prosecutors said.