The California “party mom” accused of throwing wild sex and alcohol parties for underaged teens, including her own sons, pleaded not guilty on Monday to 63 new charges brought by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
A grand jury last week indicted Shannon O’Connor on 20 felony and 43 misdemeanor counts, including endangering the health of a child, sexual battery, annoying or molesting a child, child endangerment, and furnishing alcohol to a minor, KRON reported.
O’Connor was initially charged with 39 counts in October 2021 for incidents occurring in 2020 and 2021, as CrimeOnline reported. Prosecutors say that O’Connor got attendees drunk and “facilitated sexual encounters” between them, some of which may not have been consensual.
Girls ranging in age from 13 to 15 years old have testified they were sexually assaulted by boys while drunk and that O’Connor watched the assaults. According to court documents, O’Connor carefully screened which girls were invited to her parties. “She would reject girls as guests by saying they weren’t ‘pretty enough’ or didn’t ‘put out,’” the documents said.
Last month, prosecutors revealed some of O’Connor’s internet searches, found on her cell phone. O’Connor searched for “Good books with young sex,” “hot 16 (year) old teenage girls” and “prettiest 16 year old girl,” they said.
O’Connor’s husband, Robert Amaral, has said he did not know about the parties and that they occurred while he was away. Amaral is seeking a divorce from O’Connor. Court records show that O’Connor called one of her two sons from jail shortly after she was arrested and told him not to cooperate with investigators, KRON said. The son, “John Doe 3,” promised he wouldn’t on a recorded call.
O’Connor also called Amaral and told him to hide the couple’s financial assets.
The judge issued a protective order on Monday barring O’Connor from any and all contact with victims and witnesses.
Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise told reporters Monday that the new charges stemmed from the ongoing investigation and that the new indictment meant that a preliminary hearing, which would have required the testimony of the young victims, was no longer necessary. O’Connor is due back in court on December 26, when the parties will choose a trial date.
The judge previously offered a 17 year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea earlier this year, but O’Connor rejected it. If convicted, she now faces 31 years in prison.
O’Connor appeared in court without her bleached blonde hair on Monday and mumbled answers to questions from the judge. The judge ordered her to remain jailed without bond.
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[Featured image: Shannon O’Connor/pool]
