Los Gatos party mom case: Judge rules aggravating factors could lead to maximum penalty

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Santa Clara County judge ruled Wednesday that aggravating factors could lead to the maximum penalty for multiple charges against Shannon O'Connor.

The Los Gatos mother did not appear in court today, but her case moved closer to sentencing with a judge's ruling.

This comes after a jury found O'Connor guilty on dozens of charges, including 16 felony counts of child endangerment, dissuading a witness and abetting sexual penetration between underage teens.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen told us in a statement, "Today's ruling confirms what the parents and victims in the Los Gatos Community came to know all too well - that Shannon O'Connor put herself in a position of trust over the well-being of kids, and she abused that trust. Ms. O'Connor's planned actions took advantage of the vulnerability of the innocent she drew to her home over years."

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Legal analyst Steven Clark weighed in on the judge's decision.

"The fact that there's so many counts against her and this went on for such a long period of time, she's going to be treated quite harshly than if this was just a one-off type of scenario where a party went out of control," Clark said, adding that's why the judge made the decision she did on the aggravating factors.

The factors the judge found at play were that the teenage victims were vulnerable. O'Connor carried out crimes in a planned and sophisticated manner and she took advantage of her position of trust and, in the case of the sex crimes, she persuaded a minor to commit illegal acts.

"Even though Ms. O'Connor was not the one that committed the offense, the fact that she engaged a minor to commit that offense was a significant factor for the court," Clark said.

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Now, the probation department will compile a report to give the judge information on how to sentence her.

That report will include victim impact and input from O'Connor herself.

"The defense needs to walk a fine line between expressing contrition to the court, but at the same time preserving their right to appeal this verdict," Clark said. "A big factor is remorse, contrition and showing the court that this will never happen again. That would go a long way, I think, in the sentencing hearing here."

Sentencing in this case is still scheduled for March 26 and may take up to two days.

However, the defense has indicated they may continue this hearing depending on how long it takes to work through the lengthy probation reports and prepare their final statements.