‘What happens in Vegas.’ Los Gatos Party Mom’s text messages shown at trial

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Text messages from Shannon O’Connor, also known as the “Los Gatos Party Mom,” were shown to 12 jurors on Tuesday, including one stating, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Prosecutors displayed O’Connor’s text messages in the courtroom to show evidence that the mother of two actively encouraged underage teenagers and their friends to drink alcohol.

O’Connor, 50, is accused of giving copious amounts of alcohol to Los Gatos High School students, pressuring minors to engage in sexual activities with each other while the mother watched, as well as organizing secret parties at her house and in vacation rentals.

The text messages show in court Tuesday were exchanged during a family trip to Las Vegas in the summer of 2020, when O’Connor’s son was 14 years old and about to enter high school. A girl who is an alleged victim in the case, identified as “Jane Doe 7,” also went on the trip.

As soon as the group’s plane landed in Las Vegas, O’Connor’s son wrote in the group message chat, “Someone give me a f**king beer.” His mother replied, “I’m down. Champagne? (Let’s) hit the pool with drinks, lots of drinks.”

Parents trusted Los Gatos Party Mom ‘100 percent,’ witness testifies

An investigator testified that it’s unclear if the “Party Mom’s” wealthy husband went on the Las Vegas trip.

Dozens of witnesses have testified for the trial that began in December. O’Connor has pleaded not guilty to 63 charges. The alleged victims are 12 girls, identified as “Jane Does,” and eight boys, identified as “John Does.”

Her relationships with her son’s friends went beyond being considered a “cool mom,” John Doe 5 previously testified. She was more like one of the “popular girls” in the group, and she controlled which teenagers were excluded or included around the popular crowd, he testified. O’Connor tried to control who “hooked up” or dated, according to testimony.

“Party Mom” allegedly used Snapchat to communicate with teens without their parents’ knowledge. When a prosecutor asked John Doe 5 why he felt like it was normal to frequently talk to a woman in her 40s about sex, he said, “Looking back on it, it’s pretty weird.”

On Tuesday, country music blared inside the courtroom while a prosecutor played a cellphone video showing one wild pool party at O’Connor’s house in May of 2020. Boys are seen dancing around O’Connor’s pool, jacuzzi, and diving board. An investigator explained that the mother recorded the video while sitting in her kitchen and looking through glass doors that led to the pool area.

The investigator testified that the video was relevant because some of the sexual assaults between minors happened in the jacuzzi. The video shows that, even if O’Connor was inside the kitchen area, she could still clearly see what was happening in the pool area, according to testimony.

At a party on New Year’s Eve in 2020, the mother allegedly watched a boy sexually assault “Jane Doe 3” in the jacuzzi while the victim was so intoxicated “she could barely hold her head above water,” court documents state.

Prosecutors said O’Connor was the only adult present for the boozy and dangerous parties.

“When defendant threw parties for children, she did everything she could to hide these parties from adults and authorities. She told (the teens) if anyone found out, she could go to jail,”  Deputy District Attorney Joanna Lee wrote.

The parties turned into an “enormously traumatic period of their lives” for the Los Gatos High School students who attended, Lee wrote.

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