An accuser who testified at the trial of Shannon O'Connor, also known as the "Party Mom," said she couldn't “escape” the older woman's control.
The 50-year-old is on trial in San Jose, California, after being accused of hosting secret parties for underage teens, supplying alcohol, and pressuring intoxicated students into sexual activity.
According to KRON, a teenage witness identified as Jane Doe 7 testified for several hours on Tuesday (Jan. 13) about dating O'Connor's son at age 14. She also testified about underage binge drinking at O'Connor's house and said the mother controlled a group of freshmen of Los Gatos High School.
“There was no escape,” the teen told the court.
Jane Doe 7 said that after she broke up with O'Connor's son during the 2020 to 2021 freshman year, O'Connor confronted her.
"It was harder to escape from her than her son,” Jane Doe 7 continued. “She knew my every move. When I started to move on, I was shamed for it.”
Jane Doe 7 said parents grew angry after a Halloween pool party when teens came home extremely intoxicated and recalled that her own mother also texted O’Connor about it.
Parents and police questioned O'Connor about the Halloween party, and the witness testified that O'Connor said she would rather kill herself than go to jail.
Jane Doe 7 also testified that O'Connor encouraged her to sneak out at night to drive "aimlessly" around town with other teens and allegedly kept a duffle bag of alcohol in her large black SUV to allow teens to drink while she drove.
The witness then described a late-night drive through the high school parking lot when two drunk boys were hanging off the back of the SUV and one fell. She said the boy was unconscious and bleeding when O'Connor pulled him back inside.
The mother allegedly opted to drive to a 7-Eleven for ice instead of seeking medical help and lied to police when questioned.
“She pretended to be his mom and said he got car sick,” Jane Doe 7 testified.
On another night when police boxed in O’Connor’s SUV near a post office, Jane Doe 7 described “feeling panic,” noting “empty cans everywhere.”
She testified that O'Connor instructed her to hide alcohol and thought O’Connor’s demeanor was “horrifically calm” at that moment.
In the trial, it also came out that O'Connor allegedly used Snapchat and guest lists to decide which teens were included or excluded based on trust and attractiveness. The “Party Mom” allegedly wanted her son's friends to see her as one of the "popular girls," per the testimony.
O’Connor was arrested in early October 2021 in Star, Idaho, where she had moved to with her sons, per CBS News. She was extradited to California to face 39 felony and misdemeanor charges, including sexual battery and child molestation.
She faces three additional charges of grand theft tied to $120,000 in unauthorized charges for clothing, limo rides, and alcohol deliveries reportedly made on company credit cards from her former employer.
O’Connor has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors alleged that O’Connor pressured boys and girls to engage in sexual activities while too intoxicated to consent. In a court document reviewed by KRON, investigators wrote that she was driven by an “unnatural or abnormal sexual interest” in children.
Jury deliberations are expected to begin in March.