The apparently troubled woman at the heart of a sensational case in the South Bay, Shannon O'Connor, was back in court Friday, and she was made to hear directly from some teenage victims.
If you've missed our extensive coverage of Los Gatos "cool mom" or "party mom" Shannon O'Connor, you can find it all here. Suffice it to say, between mid-2020 and mid-2021, the 48-year-old O'Connor was allegedly throwing very booze-fueled parties for her 15-year-old son and his friends, who all attended Los Gatos High. She befriended many of these kids, and reportedly communicated with them on Snapchat, telling them to keep the clandestine 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.
There are also charges that she stalked and harassed at least one teenage girl, and one boy may have gotten a concussion after a drunken escapade hanging off O'Connor's car in a Los Gatos parking lot being driven by another teen.
O'Connor had pleaded not guilty, and she's been in jail now for nearly two years. We learned earlier this week that O'Connor was making moves to potentially take a plea, inquiring of a Santa Clara County judge how long her sentence might be if she pleaded guilty.
As KRON4 reports, O'Connor was in court Friday and "kept her head down and was silent while her alleged victims spoke." 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.
The hearing comes before a plea deal has been struck, and KRON4 reports that they all spoke against the deal, saying eight years is not enough.
Also, as NBC Bay Area reports, prosecutors just filed additional charges against O'Connor, including a charge that she has been trying to set up a drug-dealing operation while in jail.
One alleged teen victim, known in court papers only as Jane Doe 8, is a girl from Idaho whom O'Connor and her son allegedly stalked after fleeing California in 2021, after O'Connor learned that she was being investigated by Los Gatos police. (A new charge also addresses O'Connor's alleged attempt to flee from prosecution.) Her son met the girl playing a video game online, and, crazily, she seems to have moved with her two sons to the town in Idaho where the girl lived so that her son could date her.
Once arriving in Idaho, O'Connor allegedly threw similar booze-fueled parties for a new set of teens, until the girl was allegedly assaulted and the girl's mother cut off contact. The girl tells the court now that O'Connor, "tore my life apart" and "She is a con-artist."
"Only eight years would be a dishonor to the victims," said Jane Doe 8. "I will never have the life I once had. And neither should she."
Jane Doe 8 also testified that O'Connor stalked her and repeatedly called and texted her, sometimes just breathing ominously on the other end of the phone.
"She is the rapist of my child’s innocence," said the mother of Jane Doe 8, per KRON4. "For months, I asked and asked for Shannon to stop. Stop contacting my children, my daughter will never be allowed to have a relationship with your son."
Other details, per KRON4, included a scene in which a Jane Doe 9 said she was being followed, while she walked down a road, by a car with its headlights off. She said the car eventually pulled by her and O'Connor and her son were "screaming and calling me nasty names," and she had to jump into a bush to escape.
Other girls testified that they had nightmares, and that they now have reputations at school and are dealing with the shame of being labeled assault victims. And one mother testified, "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."
Previously: Los Gatos 'Cool Mom' Might End Up Pleading Guilty