The Los Gatos woman who is accused of holding alcohol-fueled parties for teens remained in jail over the holidays, as a variety of cases against her go unresolved.
And in recent filings in the divorce case brought by her husband, Robert Amaral, the former chief revenue officer for Palo Alto-based software company Opsera, Inc., Shannon O’Connor seemed wistful for her days on the outside.
“Robert Amaral and I lived in a multimillion dollar home in Saratoga and then moved to an even nicer home in Los Gatos on a 3.5 acre property,” she wrote in bold, flowing handwriting. “We drove luxury vechicles (sic) and went on extravagant vacations several times a year. I shopped on a regular basis and had plastic surgery hair and nails done every few weeks. I never went without anything.”
In this Aug. 27 declaration, she said she’d been getting money from her “relatives” to cover $2,500 of the more than $5,000 in fees she’d racked up in that case.
O’Connor described her health as “Good, but incarcerated,” adding she had “Poor” marketable skills.
She asked Amaral for $45,000.
“I am incarcerated and I am in need of incidental expenses in my incarceration,” she said, requesting money for multiple civil cases.
“I will require vocational rehabilitation upon re-entering the work place,” she wrote. “I supported Robert domestically while he focused on his career…I am currently incarcerated. When I am released, I will need support to enable me to live at the marital standard of living I described herein.”
Meanwhile, she said, Amaral has a “3.5 million dollar Estate in Austin, Texas on a renovated golf course. Investments / stocks, 401k, Luxury cars, all my jewelry, custom furniture all throughout the estate.”
After 12 years and nine months, Amaral filed for divorce on Oct. 9, 2021, in the wake of an investigation into how their Los Gatos home had figured into parties police say put the life of local teenagers in danger and facilitated unwanted sexual situations.
He reported, though his lawyer, the “full nature and extent” of his “separate property assets and debts are not presently known…At a minimum, Petitioner claims as his sole and separate property any and all assets acquired prior to marriage or after separation, as well as any and all assets acquired during marriage by inheritance, gift or devise.”
‘I have been cleared of any wrongdoing, but my life is forever impacted by (my wife)’s alleged actions.’
—Robert Amaral
In court papers, Amaral revealed he made just under $20,000 in gross salary a month, as well as $17,500 in average monthly commissions or bonuses.
He said he’d already paid his attorney $7,299.74 and still owed about $2,500.
O’Connor says Amaral hasn’t been paying child support. Amaral reported paying Elmwood Correctional Facility $1,000 on an ongoing basis to cover his wife’s food and other necessities.
“Our marriage came to an abrupt end when Respondent was arrested in Idaho, extradited back to California, and incarcerated without bail in Santa Clara County on or around October 9, 2021,” Amaral said in a filing from last February. “Respondent was charged with 20 felony and 43 misdemeanor crimes and has been incarcerated at all times since October 9, 2021. The charges stem from allegations that Respondent threw sex parties for underage children and supplied them with alcohol. I was completely unaware of Respondent’s alleged conduct, as I work in sales and my employment at the time required frequent out-of-state travel. I have been cleared of any wrongdoing, although my life is forever impacted by Respondent’s alleged actions.”
He said he was fired from his job because of O’Connor.
“Respondent is seeking an award of attorney’s fees and costs in order to retain new criminal defense counsel,” he said. “I should not be required to contribute toward Respondent’s criminal defense counsel’s fees and costs.”
While Amaral is known for leading multiple start-ups to IPO, prosecutors said O’Connor tried to launch a drug dealing operation from behind bars with a woman she was having a sexual relationship with.
He says $250,000-300,000 from the sale of their Los Gatos home already went to O’Connor’s criminal defense.
In a Nov. 5 order, Judge Cindy Hendrickson awarded O’Connor $15,000 in attorney’s fees and $5,000 in expert fees, to be held in trust and used when called for—with any remaining balance to be returned to Amaral.
The minute order from the Sept. 17 hearing where the matter was discussed, states future requests for fees will require detailed billing statements.
“The Court finds that the respondent has shown a clear need for attorneys fees,” it reads. “The Court finds that there is a disparity in income, the petitioner has the ability to pay respondent’s fees, and that the attorney’s fees requested are reasonable.”
Amaral is seeking full custody of their son, Robert William Amaral, who is now 17.
Meanwhile, the judge in O’Connor’s criminal case started to lay out the parameters for that felony trial.
O’Connor is charged with multiple counts of willful cruelty to a child and sexual penetration of a victim (though the DA’s Office hasn’t claimed she sexually abused any of the minors directly).
At a Dec. 4 hearing, the Court set April 30 at the date witness lists must be ready and sent the next hearing for May 5 in Department 24.
And O’Connor still faces accusations of defamation in civil court.
O’Connor has also been battling her former husband Darrell Bruga in family court and has a trial scheduled for April 17 in that case.
