A sleepover turned into a nightmare for three young girls in Oregon when they were sedated by their friend’s father. As the girls headed to Lake Oswego for a night at their friend’s place, her father, 58-year-old Michael Meyden, made them mango smoothies and added a sleeping drug into it.
The incident happened in August 2023, when the victims were only 12 years old. The incident garnered renewed attention after the girls’ parents settled a lawsuit with Meyden at the end of December 2025.
According to The Irish Star, the girls reportedly started to feel dizzy after having the smoothies. Fortunately, one of them had refused to consume the dessert and stayed awake. After everyone went to sleep in the basement, she sensed something fishy.
Michael Meyden planned a fun )sleepover for his daughter and three of her 12 year old friends. After he laced fruit smoothies with sleeping medication, two girls eventually passed out. A third girl who didn’t touch the drink alerted a family friend by text message. pic.twitter.com/hoKAfKgNT4
— Anne Tootill (@toot5000) June 18, 2024
The girl heard Meyden enter the basement and check whether the children were asleep. At one point, the father also allegedly placed his finger below a girl’s nose to check her breathing. The girl, who managed to stay awake, texted her parents at 2 AM and asked them to pick her up.
She wrote, “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. Please. Please pick up. Please. Please!!”
As her parents were likely asleep, she texted a family friend, who alerted the parents, and she was finally brought back home. When the parents heard the entire ordeal, they went back to Meyden’s place to pick up the other girls as well.
The victims’ parents then filed a lawsuit against the father for his objectionable actions and for endangering the safety of their children. The girls labeled him as a monster who had caused them lifelong trauma as they stopped trusting adults after the incident.
One victim’s mother told Meyden in the court, “No decent parent puts their hands on drugged and unconscious young girls without nefarious intent. Do not for one second think that I don’t know who and what you are.”
Another parent said, “Nothing you can say can change what you did and what your intentions were. There is no forgiveness to be had here. You can take that to your grave.”
Michael Meyden has been sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to drugging the drinks of his daughter’s friends during a sleepover. He claims that all he wanted was for them to go to bed.
Oregon needs to get it together. He deserves more time! pic.twitter.com/5a8kA15iX0
— Rose (@901Lulu) June 16, 2024
On the other hand, Meyden claimed he wanted to make sure the girls were asleep before he went to bed. He stated, “I deserve that speculation, but I have to tell everyone here I was truly worried about them,” said Meyden. “I just wanted to go to bed, and I wanted to go to bed knowing that they were in their bed.”
In June 2024, Meyden was charged with three counts of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Five months later, one of the victims and her father filed another lawsuit against him and sought $2.4 million for emotional distress, negligence, and battery. The case was settled on December 30, 2025, for an undisclosed amount.
