A father has been sentenced to prison after admitting to drugging his 12-year-old daughter and her friends with a prescription sedative during a sleepover at his home, leading to a series of desperate late-night texts from one terrified child.
The Sleepover That Turned into a Nightmare
Michael Meyden, 58, prepared mango smoothies for the children at his home in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and insisted they drink them. Unbeknownst to the girls, he had laced the drinks with Temazepam, a controlled substance typically prescribed for severe insomnia. While most of the girls consumed the spiked smoothies, one child became suspicious and refused.
That child, sensing imminent danger, repeatedly called and texted her parents and family friends in a frantic bid to be rescued. In messages sent around 2 a.m., she pleaded with her mother. "Mom please pick me up and say I had family emergency," one text read, according to court reports. Her fear was palpable in subsequent messages: "[D]on't feel safe. might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!"
Hospital Tests and a Pretended Sleep
After being collected by a family friend, the alert girl's parents returned to the Meyden home to retrieve the other two friends, who were then taken to hospital. Tests confirmed both girls had benzodiazepines, the drug class to which Temazepam belongs, in their systems. One victim told police she felt "woozy, hot, and clumsy" before falling into a "thick, deep sleep."
In a harrowing account, she stated that after the girls had gone to the basement to sleep, she heard Meyden enter. Pretending to be asleep, she saw him move the child next to her to the other side of the bed. He later returned, putting his finger under the same child's nose to check her breathing and waving a hand in her face to ensure she was unconscious.
Sentencing and a Civil Settlement
Earlier in the year, Meyden pleaded guilty to three felony counts of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance. In June 2024, Circuit Court Judge Ann Lininger sentenced him to two years in prison.
During the sentencing hearing, the profound impact on the victims was laid bare. One girl directly addressed Meyden, stating, "My life has become a living hell because of you and your actions. I want you to think of yourself as the monster you are." Another victim condemned him as a "rotten old man."
Clackamas County court records also show that Meyden and his ex-wife reached a settlement last month in a civil lawsuit filed by the father of one of the victims. The lawsuit, initially filed in November 2024, sought $2.4 million in damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and battery. The monetary amount of the settlement remains undisclosed, and future proceedings have been cancelled.
