California's 'Los Gatos party mom' sentenced to 35 years in prison

Source: The Guardian

California’s ‘Los Gatos party mom’ sentenced to 35 years in prison

Shannon O’Connor, 52, was convicted of charges including child endangerment and facilitating forcible sexual assault

Roque Planas
Fri 29 May 2026 02.05 BST
Last modified on Fri 29 May 2026 02.06 BST

A judge has sentenced a San Francisco Bay Area mother to 35 years in prison after her conviction for a slew of crimes resulting from hosting drunken sex parties for young teenagers.

Widely known as the “Los Gatos party mom”, a nickname that references her hometown, 52-year-old Shannon O’Connor was convicted of four dozen crimes in March, including child endangerment, dissuading witnesses from reporting a crime and facilitating forcible sexual assault. Her sentence was the maximum allowed under state law.

O’Connor must also register as a sex offender.

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During a series of parties, O’Connor bought Fireball whiskey, vodka and condoms for teens mostly aged 14 and 15, allowed them to drink to the point of vomiting, then declined to seek medical attention for them. In some cases, she encouraged the drunken teens to have sex with each other or placed them into rooms together, including in instances where they were too drunk to consent.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/california-los-gatos-party-mom-sentenced