An Oregon father has been sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to drugging his daughter’s friends, according to reports.
Micahel Meyden, 57, was sentenced in Clackamas County Circuit Court on Monday, June 10, after pleading guilty to putting sedatives in the smoothies of three of his daughter’s friends during a sleepover on Aug. 25, 2023, NBC News and Oregonian reported. Meyden is charged with three felony counts of causing another person to take a controlled substance.
According to media outlets, Meyden gave the bizarre excuse in court that he supplied the girls, who were then 12, with watered-down drinks because he “wanted them to go to bed” by 11:00 p.m. “I was too fixated on them going to bed, yes , that’s the truth,” he said in court, according to Oregonian. “My whole life is ruined. Everything that was important to me until that moment disappeared.”
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Michael Meyden in court on June 10, 2024.
Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP
Girl refuses to drink smoothie Oregon dad allegedly drank: How her texts led to his arrest
A statement obtained by NBC News confirmed that the three girls tested positive for benzodiazepine, a depression medication commonly prescribed for anxiety and insomnia. Meyden’s daughter also tested positive for drugs, although he was not charged, his attorney Jeff Turnoy said, according to the newspaper.
Following the sentencing, Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth issued a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “Mr. Meyden’s actions are inexcusable and reckless and demand a punishment commensurate with the crime. The impact this event has had on the child victims, their families, and our community is immense .”
“MR. Meyden is incredibly remorseful and humbled by his behavior and choices. He adequately understands that he’s hurt a lot of people and he’s very sorry for all of that,” Turnoy told NBC News. “His demeanor in court was genuine and sincere, showing nothing but sincerity in his apology and remorse for his behavior.”
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Stock photo of crime scene tape. Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library/Getty Images ‘What happened?’ Girls who were allegedly drugged by their friends’ dad during sleepovers showed alarming symptoms
In a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE in March, police claimed Meyden had been eating smoothies laced with his daughter’s friend. He turned himself in to police and pleaded not guilty to nine felonies and misdemeanors, according to the Lake Oswego Police Department.
According to the affidavit, one of his daughter’s friends drank two cups of smoothies, another girl drank one, and the third “barely anything,” causing Meyden to “get mad” at the girl.
The girl was then “pretending to sleep” while Meyden frequently checked on the other girls sleeping in the basement. She ended up texting her mom and several other friends to pick them up while she told them what happened, according to the affidavit. The mother told the police the next morning.
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Meyden’s sentencing Monday included the dismissal of three additional felony counts and three misdemeanor counts in a negotiated plea deal, authorities said, according to NBC News. He also received three years of post-prison supervision.
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