Father accused of drugging daughter and her two friends at sleepover

Posted at 5:36 PM, March 4, 2024 and last updated 6:06 PM, October 18, 2024

A father in Oregon drugged his daughter and two of her friends during a sleepover in August of 2023, court documents allege.

Fifty-seven-year-old Michael Meyden, from Lake Oswego, is accused of lacing smoothies with benzodiazepine, a sedative that is commonly used to treat insomnia or panic attacks.

According to court documents, the three 12-year-old girls reported feeling groggy, and some of them blacked out. All three of them later tested positive for benzodiazepine.

Meyden repeatedly checked on the girls in a basement where they were sleeping, according to the court records. He held his finger under one girl’s nose and waved it in front of her face.

One of the girls sent text messages to her mother in the early morning asking for a pickup:

“Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I don’t feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me,” the message read.

According to court documents, the girl then contacted a family friend who took her home.

Parents visited the home around 3 a.m. to collect the other girls. According to court records, Meyden was reluctant to let the parents into the house, saying the girls were sleeping.

The charges Meyden faces include causing others to ingest a controlled substance. He turned himself in and has pleaded not guilty.

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