A California woman—dubbed “Party Mom” by authorities—is facing possible jail time after hosting alcohol-fueled parties for young teens, encouraging them to engage in sex acts and refusing to call for help after they passed out in their own vomit.
Shannon O’Connor, 51, was convicted March 4 of felony child abuse after authorities say she hosted the wild parties for teens mostly 14- and 15-years-old at her home, instructing those in attendance to keep the parties a secret from their parents, according to a statement from the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office.
“This defendant not only didn’t protect these children, she endangered their safety, coordinated their sexual assaults, and she tried to get them not to tell,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “These brave kids came forward to tell the truth about what happened and to put a stop to it.”
Authorities say O’Connor, also known as Shannon Bruga, provided the teens with “copious amounts of alcohol,” including vodka and Fireball, during the drunken parties, which took place over a two-year period beginning in 2020, according to a statement of facts in the case.
“Defendant told all minors who attended parties at her residence or were given alcohol not to tell anyone about the parties,” prosecutors said in the nine-page document laying out the allegations against her. “She stated if anyone was told she could go to jail.”
O’Connor often encouraged the teens, according to the statement from prosecutors, to engage in sexual activities even if “some with teens too drunk to consent.”
“At one party O’Connor handed an underaged teenager a condom and pushed him into a room with an intoxicated minor,” the district attorney’s office said. “During a New Year’s Eve party with about five 14-year-olds, the defendant watched and laughed as a drunk teen sexually battered a young girl in bed.”
In another instance, prosecutors said O’Connor brought a drunk teen into a bedroom where a 14-year-old intoxicated girl was lying down. After the teen was assaulted, the girl told authorities she asked O’Connor, “Why did you leave me in there with him? Like you knew like what he was going to do to me.”
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In another incident in October 2020, authorities said in the statement of facts that O’Connor rented a cottage for her son’s birthday, saying in a Snapchat group chat that she’d have to “vet any invited girls” herself and instructing the teens to keep the event a secret. Prosecutors said she then got two large orders of alcohol to give the teen boys.
“The external video cameras recorded several minor boys urinating on the property, stumbling and falling over on the back patio, and throwing up in the backyard,” the court document stated. “The homeowner found extensive damage caused to the inside of the house, totaling in $9,000 worth of expenses.”
Months later, in December 2020, she drove a group of intoxicated boys around and then encouraged one of the minors to drive her SUV through the high school parking lot as two other teens hung onto the back, per the statement of facts. One of the teens fell off and got a concussion. As others tried to pick the unconscious teen up and place him the vehicle, they repeatedly dropped him.
In another instance a female teen was so intoxicated she was repeatedly “drowning” in a hot tub until she was carried out of the water, the court records stated. O’Connor helped teens craft lies to tell their parents about the parties and their alleged drinking and often refused to get help for teens passed out or vomiting after consuming large amounts of alcohol.
“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,” the district attorney’s office said in the statement announcing the conviction. “She would provide the alcohol.”
O’Connor is expected to be sentenced later this year and, according to prosecutors, could be facing a “long prison term.”
