California woman sentenced to 35 years for organizing parties where she incited minors to sexual acts
Shannon Marie O'Connor received the maximum sentence allowed for organizing alcohol parties for teenagers whom she incited to sexual acts
A California woman was sentenced to 35 years and 10 months in prison, two months after being found guilty of dozens of sex crimes against teenagers.
Shannon Marie O'Connor, also known as Shannon Bruga, was sentenced by a Santa Clara County, California, judge on Thursday, May 28, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced in a press release.
She was found guilty in March on dozens of charges of facilitating the sexual assault of a minor against another, endangering a minor, harassing or molesting a minor and coercing witnesses not to testify, CBS San Francisco reported.
O'Connor, 52, received "the maximum sentence allowed, for organizing alcohol parties for young teenagers, where he bought alcohol and incited sexual acts, some with teenagers too intoxicated to give consent," the prosecutor said in the statement.
The court found that the defendant purchased vodka and whiskey, provided condoms and “discouraged teenagers from telling their parents or the police about the parties or from calling for help when one of the victims passed out in their own vomit,” according to the news release, which added that the teenagers who attended the parties were mostly 14 and 15 years old.
O'Connor received his sentence after two days of emotional testimony from victims, including a young woman who testified in court that she "had suicidal thoughts because of the trauma," according to prosecutors.
The mother of one victim who testified at trial claimed that O'Connor manipulated her daughter, often giving her ostentatious gifts while she dated O'Connor's 15-year-old son, CBS San Francisco reported.
According to prosecutors, O'Connor hosted at least six parties for teenagers in 2020 and 2021 at his home and other locations.
O'Connor was arrested in 2021 in Idaho, where she resided at the time. The Ada County Sheriff's Office linked her to the ongoing sexual assault investigation in California and arrested her on the outstanding warrant, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
At the time of his arrest, ten minors were found at his home, most of whom had spent the night there.