Jury finds Los Gatos 'Party Mom' guilty on most underage drinking, sex counts
Santa Clara County DA speaks after Los Gatos 'party mom' verdict
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen speaks after Shannon O'Connor, a Los Gatos mom accused hosting parties for underage teens that included alcohol and sexual conduct, was found guilty on most charges.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Santa Clara County jury on Wednesday returned mostly guilty verdicts in the case of "Party Mom" Shannon O'Connor, a Los Gatos mom accused of hosting parties for underage teens that included alcohol and sexual conduct.
Mostly guilty verdicts
What they're saying:
There were five not guilty results.
But the jury found that O'Connor was guilty on the majority of more than 60 charges against her, including child endangerment and the sexual penetration of an intoxicated child-- the most serious of the charges. There were more than a dozen victims.
After the verdicts were read, the parent of one of the victims called O'Connor a "predator," a "stalker," a "groomer" and a "harasser" who was "very good at what she did."
"After many years and many, many victims, today there was justice," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told reporters outside court. "It was a long wait. It was a long trial. There was a lot of hardship, pain and suffering, but with the jury's verdict, today, there is now justice."
He thanked the child victims in the case for coming forward, and blamed O'Connor for being a parent herself for taking advantage of children.
O'Connor's defense attorney, Stephen Prekoski, spoke, too.
He said he felt the jury was diligent in their verdicts, but obviously, he wasn't pleased.
"This is a disappointing verdict," Prekoski told reporters outside the courthouse. "It's not the result we were hoping for."
The jury began deliberating on Feb. 24 at the San Jose Hall of Justice. The trial lasted about four months.
Los Gatos 'party mom' defense attorney speaks after guilty verdicts
Defense attorney Stephen Prekoski speaks after his client, Shannon O'Connor, was found guilty on the majority of charges tied to underage drinking and child endangerment.
Underage alcohol, sex parties
Why you should care:
The 51-year-old O'Connor faced 63 criminal counts, including felony sex offenses and misdemeanors, related to hosting parties with alcohol and allowing underage teens to drink and engage in sexual conduct.
Prosecutors spoke with some 13 students, who said O'Connor invited them to her Los Gatos home and encouraged the teens and her son to drink alcohol and engage in sexual activity.
The teens said she tried to hide the parties from her husband and neighbors. Prosecutors said O'Connor hosted the parties between 2021 and 2022. Some of the students said they were victims of sexual misconduct.
Los Gatos 'party mom' case moves forward
The slow pace of Shannon O?Connor?s trial shifted Monday into a higher gear.
The backstory:
O'Connor did not testify in her defense, the Mercury News noted.
But she did call the news organization on Dec. 23, 2025, from call, where she told the Mercury News that she accepted some responsibility for the parties, but only through the lens of a concerned mother and was trying to communicate with the teens at their level, trying to encourage them to be safe when they were drinking and having sex.
A legal expert noted Prekoski did not contest some accusations that O'Connor used bad judgment in supplying alcohol to underage teens, but instead, focused on the felony sex charges.
O’Connor was arrested in 2021 in Ada County, Idaho, where she was living at the time. She was brought back to Santa Clara County jail, where she has been held ever since.
These convictions will also require O’Connor to register as a sex offender.
By the numbers:
Here's the breakdown of the verdict:
Guilty:
Count 1 endangering health of child August 2020 against John Doe 1
Count 2 endangering health of child John Doe 1 June 22, 2020
Count 3 endangering health of child John Doe 1 Aug. 1 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021
Count 6 endangering health of child John Doe 4 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020
Count 7 endangering health of child John Doe 8 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020
Count 8 endangering health of child John Doe 3 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5 2020
Count 9 endangering health of child Jane Doe 1 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020
Count 10 endangering health of child John Doe 5 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31 2020
Count 11 endangering the health of child Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1, 2020 to Feb 14, 2021
Count 12 sexual penetration of intoxicated victim Jane Doe Dec. 11, 2020
Count 48 lesser count of count 13 child endangerment not causing great body injury Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020
Count 14 attempting to dissuade victim from reporting crime John Doe 1 Dec. 19, 2020
Count 15 endangering health of child John Doe 2 Dec. 19, 2020
Count 16 endangering health of child John Doe 3 Dec. 19, 2020
Count 17 endangering health of child John Doe 1 Dec. 31, 2020
Count 18 sexual penetration of intoxicated victim Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020
Count 19 endangering health of child Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020
Count 60 lesser count of 20 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 Feb. 15, 2021
Count 22 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 June 1, 2020 to Aug. 1, 2020
Count 24 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 1 Aug. 1, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021
Count 26 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Sept. 18, 2020
Count 28 selling, giving, furnishing alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 4 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020
Count 29 annoying or molesting a child under 18 John Doe 1 June 22, 2019 to February 2021
Count 31 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury John Doe Oct. 1, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021
Count 32 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 7 Oct. 10, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021
Count 33 selling, furnishing, giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 1 June 22, 2020
Count 34 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Oct. 1, 2020 to Feb 1, 2021
Count 35 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 7 Oct. 10, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021
Count 37 selling, furnishing, giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 3 Oct. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2020
Count 38 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury John Doe 4 Sept. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020
Count 39 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 4 Sept. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020
Count 42 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 Oct 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020
Count 43 selling furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 5 Oct. 30, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020
Count 45 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1, 2020 to Feb. 14, 2021
Count 46 selling giving or furnishing alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Dec. 31, 2020
Count 47 annoying or molesting child under 18 Jane Doe 4 Nov. 1 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020
Count 49 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020
Count 52 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 2 Dec 19, 2020
Count 53 selling furnishing giving alcohol to person under 21 John Doe 3 Dec. 19, 2020
Count 56 selling furnishing giving alcohol to a person under 21 John Doe 1
Count 57 selling, furnishing or giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 3 Dec. 31, 2020
Count 58 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 Jan. 2, 2021 to Feb. 14, 2021
Count 59 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury Jane Doe 2 January 2021 to February 2021
Count 61 selling furnishing giving alcohol to person under 21 Jane Doe 1 Feb. 15, 2021
Count 62 child endangerment not likely to cause great bodily injurY Jane Doe 8 April 30, 2021 to May 3, 2021
Count 63 child endangerment not likely to produce great bodily injury Jane Doe 9 April 30, 2021 to May 3, 2021
Not guilty:
Count 4 endangering health of child John Doe 2 Sept. 18, 2020
Count 25 lesser count of count 4 child endangerment (but guilty of child endangerment that could produce bodily injury)
Count 5 endangering health of child Joe Doe 8 Sept. 18, 2020
Count 13 endangering health of child Jane Doe 4 Dec. 11, 2020
Count 20 endangering health of child Jane Doe 2 Feb. 15, 2021