The mother accused of throwing drunken parties for teenagers in Los Gatos, where she allegedly also encouraged nonconsensual sex, has been denied bail in Santa Clara County.
Shannon O'Connor, 47, was held on $1,000,000 bail at the Elmwood Complex Women’s Facility in Milpitas prior to Wednesday’s arraignment hearing in Santa Clara County, according to jail records. O'Connor, who faces 39 felony and misdemeanor charges, was extradited to the Bay Area from Idaho on Tuesday.
Jail records following Wednesday’s hearing listed "no bail allowed" for O'Connor, also known as Shannon Bruga. The San Jose Mercury News reported a judge issued 15 protective orders for her alleged teenage victims.
Santa Clara County prosecutors announced last week they had charged O'Connor with 12 felony counts of child endangerment, as well as 27 other misdemeanors, for her role hosting and facilitating a number of alcohol-fueled parties for her teenage son and his friends.
Investigators alleged that, in one instance, O'Connor "watched and laughed" while a 14-year-old girl told a drunk 14-year-old boy to stop touching her without her consent. In another, O’Connor allegedly brought that same boy into a room with a different 14-year-old girl, who was then assaulted as "she cried and covered her face with a pillow." The boy told investigators he was too drunk to remember either incident.
Santa Clara County prosecutors also filed three grand theft charges against O'Connor, according to the Mercury News. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said last week that, in addition to the 39 felonies and misdemeanors, she is accused of charging $120,000 in unauthorized purchases on a company card while she worked as an administrative assistant for Santa Clara-based Aruba Networks.
Law enforcement officials in Idaho said last week they were concerned O'Connor "may have been holding similar parties" in Ada County, where she and her family had moved earlier this year. When officers with the Ada County Sheriff's Office arrested O’Connor on Oct. 9, they said 12 teenagers – "most of whom" had stayed overnight – were at her Eagle, Idaho home.
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