Dad convicted of serving drugged mango smoothies at daughter's sleepover sentenced to prison time

An Oregon dad who pleaded guilty to serving drug-laced smoothies at his 12-year-old daughter's sleepover says he just wanted the girls to go to sleep, according to his his lawyer.

Michael Meyden, 57, of Lake Oswego, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of causing another to ingest a controlled substance, Meyden’s attorney Jeff Turnoy told NBC News. Meyden will serve two years in prison, with potential for five years off his sentence for good behavior.

Turnoy told NBC News that Meyden “was attempting to have the girls go to sleep and not sneak out of the house so that they would engage in the activities that the family had planned the next day.”

On February 28, 2024, Meyden turned himself into the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon City, according to a press release from the Lake Oswego Police Department.

In a probable cause affadavit, a detective said Meyden was responsible for drugs found in the bloodstreams of three 12-year-old girls who were guests of his daughter's sleepover on August 25, 2023.

“The resolution was agreed upon by both sides,” Turnoy tells TODAY.com. “It was the result of careful consideration and negotiations. Mr. Meyden is incredibly remorseful for his actions. He hopes everyone can move forward in a positive way.”

Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth tells TODAY.com: “Mr. Meyden’s actions are inexcusable and reckless and required a punishment commensurate with the crime. The impact this event has had on the child victims, their families, and our community has been enormous.”

What the police said

According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by TODAY.com, three girls were taken to the hospital on the morning of Aug. 26 after their parents noticed symptoms of sedation, and they tested positive for benzodiazepine. The controlled substance works as a sedative by calming the nervous system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The girls told police they had spent the previous night at the home of a friend, whose father is Meyden. The girls said they believed that Meyden drugged smoothies he made before they went to sleep.

"The girls described Mr. Meyden to be very involved with their activities during the sleepover," a detective says in the affadavit. "Mr. Meyden had taken them to get their nails done, pick up a pizza for dinner and directed their activities. The girls explained Mr. Meyden was constantly checking in on them and interjecting himself into their conversations."

The document continued: "The girls stated they played in the sprinklers, went in the hot tub, took showers and got ready for bed at Mr. Meyden’s direction. The girls stated they spent the majority of their time in the basement, where they were doing a 'spa night,' watching movies while they did facials."

Police say Meyden blended mango-orange-coconut smoothies which he "insisted" that all four girls drink in two servings. The affidavit states: "Mr. Meyden specifically gave each of the girls specific colored reusable straws to distinguish their own drink. Mr. Meyden was adamant that the girls drink out of their own cups."

According to the document, the girls consumed the drinks, although one "barely drank any at all" despite Meyden's encouragement and making her a second serving, which she refused. That same girl said Meyden accused her and his daughter of switching their straws "and this upset him."

After the girls chatted and watched television, they went to bed around midnight "at the continuous prompts by Mr. Meyden," according to the affidavit.

One girl reported to police that Meyden came downstairs at one point. She said she pretended to be asleep on the pull-out couch as he removed her arm, which was draped across her friend, and moved the friend to the other side of the bed, according to the affidavit.

Meyden made a second trip downstairs, the affidavit states, and the same girl said "she saw Mr. Meyden in the dim light place his finger underneath her nose, as if to see if she was soundly asleep, he then waved his hand in front of her face." The girl stated she pretended to be asleep, according to the affidavit.

The girl told police she was scared and called and texted her parents, writing, “Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. l don’t feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!"

According to the affidavit, the girl said Meyden came back inside and stood near the bed for approximately 15 minutes, stating that "she could feel him watching her." After he left, she continued texting people in hopes for a ride home.

The girl told police that Meyden returned to the basement and went into the bathroom, which she said leads to the bedroom where the other girls slept.

That girl then received a text message from her friend alerting her that she was outside; she ran into Meyden on her way out and told him she had to leave for a family emergency, according to the warrant.

At home, the girl said she woke up her parents, who called the parents of the other girls, according to the affidavit; two drove to Meyden's home to pick up the children.

Police reported in the affidavit that during an interview with one of the girls, she "walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly, approximately 12 hours after drinking the smoothies."

The girl "recalled starting to feel woozy, hot and clumsy shortly after drinking the second smoothie ... and recalled telling scary stories then going to stand up and 'tipping over,'" the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, the girl said she “could not recall what occurred upon ‘blacking out,’ and fell into a “thick, deep sleep.” She had to be carried inside her home, the affidavit says, and she kept asking "What happened?" before going to the hospital.

The larger debate over sleepovers

Sheryl Ziegler, a Denver psychologist, told TODAY.com that stories like these, however rare, can be frightening for parents.

“Parents should be aware of where their kids sleep and what goes on in that home,” she said. “Prior to agreeing to a sleepover, ask the hosts: Will older children or siblings or other adults be present? Does the home contain any weapons or drugs? Will kids have unsupervised access to technology?”

These conversations can be uncomfortable, said Ziegler, if parents worry about offending families; however, it’s important to push through discomfort.

“What sleepovers represent, aside from socialization, is the beginning of independence,” she said. And if parents don’t think their kids are ready, that’s fine, she adds: “It’s not the job of younger kids to be independent.”

Ziegler said she approves of “sleep-unders,” a trend seen on TikTok, in which parents concerned about the risks of sleepovers allow children to stay at a friend’s home until late in the evening, then pick them up.

“There are many ways to give a child appropriate levels of independence and socialization without sleepovers,” she said.

If you allow sleepovers, Ziegler said kids should understand the difference between “bad” and “good” touch — a conversation that ideally takes place during preschool years — and that you’re available to pick them up during the night, if they want to come home.

Parents should listen to their gut when it comes to sleepovers.

“If you’re not ready,” she said, “your kids aren’t ready.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com