Oregon Father Michael Mayden Indicted For Drugging Three 12-Year-Old Girls At A Sleepover
A Lake Oswego, Oregon, resident and father has been accused of secretly drugging three of his 12-year-old daughter's friends during a sleepover hosted at his home.
Michael Meyden, 57, who the girls described as "very involved" in the weekend activities, allegedly mixed benzodiazepine into mango smoothies he offered them that evening.
In August 2023, police arrived at the Randall Children's Hospital after it was reported that the girls had been exposed to an unknown prescription drug following a sleepover at a friend's house. Detectives investigated, finding that Meyden was responsible for the drugs present in the girl's bloodstreams.
According to documents obtained by 'USA Today,' the girls had all tested positive for benzodiazepine, commonly called "benzos." The drug is a depressant used to slow down the nervous system resulting in sleepiness, relaxation, or hypnosis. It is prescribed for anxiety, with common prescriptions under the names Valium, Xanax and Klonopin.
He turned himself into Clackamas County Jail on Feb. 28, where he was indicted on three counts of causing another to ingest a controlled substance, three counts of application of a schedule-4 controlled substance to another, and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.
The girls alleged Meyden gave them each two smoothies each between 9 pm and 11 pm. Drinks were described as orange with "tiny white chunks throughout." Each cup included different colored straws.
One girl who just sipped the drink "to be nice" and "barely drank any at all" because she didn't like how it tasted, was able to remain sober. She sent a text message to her parents, police say, which helped them crack the case.
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The girl alleges Meyden tried to pull one of the girls to the side of the bed while she pretended she was asleep. Once he left the room, she texted her mother as soon as she could.
"Mom please pick me up and say had family emergency. don't feel safe. might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE," the text alarmed.
She connected with a family friend, telling them she felt "unsafe because of her friend's dad," when they picked her up.
Court documents revealed an officer interviewed one attendee 12 hours after the incident. Police said she felt "woozy, hot, and clumsy" after ingesting the smoothie and couldn't recall much after she "blacked out."
A representative from the Clackamas County Jail has informed 'USA Today' that Meyden has since been released after pleading not guilty. His bail was set at $50,000.
“Mr. Meyden is presumed innocent,” Meyden attorney, Mark Cogan told NBC News on Tuesday. “We have not seen the evidence. The indictment was issued by a grand jury behind closed doors where no judge, no defense attorney, was allowed. And we hope that people will reserve judgment until all the facts are known.”
