PORTLAND, Ore. — On Monday, a man accused of drugging three 12-year-old girls during his daughter's sleepover last summer at his Lake Oswego home appeared at a Clackamas County Circuit Court where he pled guilty.
Michael Jay Meyden, 57, pled guilty to three counts of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance, according to the Lake Oswego Police Department.
Lake Oswego police said the felony charges are from an investigation they conducted.
On August 26, 2023, Lake Oswego police were notified that three 12-year-old girls were being treated at Randall Children’s Hospital after reportedly ingesting a prescription drug while at a sleepover at a friend’s home in Lake Oswego, according to the Lake Oswego police.
Police said, detectives investigated the incident and found that Meyden placed a prescription depressant drug, into smoothies he made for the children at a sleepover his daughter was hosting.
The children and families provided victim impact statements during sentencing and Meyden was sentenced to two years in prison with three years of parole upon release, according to the Lake Oswego police.
Meyden turned himself in at the Clackamas County Jail on Feb. 29 on nine felony and misdemeanors, including forcing and giving a person a controlled substance, according to court documents.
Night of the sleepover
The three girls reported that "they had been exposed to an unknown prescription drug" while at the sleepover and were taken to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland to be treated, the news release stated. Detectives later determined through an investigation that Meyden was responsible for the drugs detected in the girls' bloodstreams.
The Oregonian reported that Meyden had laced mango smoothies with benzodiazepine and served the drinks to his daughter’s friends. Benzodiazepine is a depressant that slows the nervous system.
Meyden's motive remains unknown.
The girls told police that Meyden had been "very involved" with their activities during the sleepover. Sometime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., he prepared the smoothies, which the girls said had “tiny white chunks throughout and sprinkled on top."
During the night, Meyden kept doing tests to see if they were all asleep. One of the girls, who was awake but pretending to sleep, said he would wave his hand in front of their faces and moved one girl's arm. He would then stand near where the girls were sleeping for an extended period of time.
The girl who was awake texted a family member to come and pick her up, saying that she didn't feel safe. When an adult arrived to pick her up and take her home, she told her parents to contact the parents of the other girls. Around 3 a.m., those girls' parents went to Meyden's home to grab their daughters.
At first, Meyden resisted, saying that the girls were asleep and asked the parents to return in the morning, Detective Nicole Palmeri said in an affidavit. The parents insisted, and the girls returned home.
Neither of Meyden's two children were named as a victim in the court documents. His bail has been set at $50,000.
