An Oregon father has been accused of drugging his daughter's 12-year-old friends at a sleepover last summer.

Michael Meyden, 57, allegedly gave three of his daughter's friends mango smoothies laced with benzodiazepine while they slept over on the night of August 25, 2023, according to court documents obtained by Oregon Live.

The girls, all 12 years old, were hospitalized and tested positive for the substance, which is described as a depressant that slows the nervous system and is normally prescribed for anxiety, with common prescriptions under the names Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin

The affidavit, which a Lake Oswego police detective wrote, did not disclose why Meyden allegedly served the children spiked smoothies.

The man allegedly gave three of his daughter's friends mango smoothies laced with benzodiazepine. Credit: Cappi Thompson / Getty

During the night of the sleepover, the father was highly involved in the girls’ activities and took them to get their nails done and picked up pizza for dinner, according to the affidavit.

Per NBC News, the pre-teens spent most of their time in the basement, where they were having a "spa night," so Meyden made them smoothies in milkshake-style glasses. One of the 12-year-olds told officers that she didn’t like the smoothies, but Meyden allegedly demanded she drink it and made her a second one to try.

He then continuously visited the basement throughout the night to see if they were awake by waving his hands or putting his finger under their noses. One girl recalled that Meyden moved her body, but she "remained awake" in fear that he was going to do something.

When the man left the room, one girl sent an urgent text to her mom for help at around 1:43AM, writing: "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!!"

The girl was eventually able to reach a family friend, who arrived and took her home. Eventually, two other parents also arrived to pick up their daughters, but he was reluctant to let them leave.

Authorities said in an affidavit that cops arrived at the hospital and said one of the 12-year-old girls "walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly," while another girl could not walk without assistance when her parents picked her up that night and kept repeating "what happened," according to PEOPLE.

Meyden turned himself in to the police and was indicted on nine felony and misdemeanor charges. Credit: Ftwitty / Getty

Meyden - who reportedly divorced his wife on October 17, less than two months after the sleepover - has now been charged with three felony counts of causing another person to consume a controlled substance.

He is also charged with three felony counts of applying a schedule IV controlled substance to the body of a minor, and three misdemeanor counts of delivering to a minor a schedule IV controlled substance.

His lawyer, Mark Cogan, revealed that his client turned himself in at the Clackamas County Jail on Thursday (February 29) following a grand jury indictment. Jail records acquired by outlets show he is no longer in custody as of Friday (February 1) morning. His Bail was issued at $50,000, which Meyden has posted, Cogan said.

"Mr. Meyden is presumed innocent," the attorney reportedly said in a statement. "We have not seen the evidence. The indictment was issued by a grand jury behind closed doors where no judge, no defense attorney, was allowed. And we hope that people will reserve judgment until all the facts are known."

Credit: Reggie Casagrande / Getty

Sleepovers are where a child's fondest memories are born, but to some parents, it is a nightmare.

Many people, including Carli Pierson for USA Today, are divided on the subject as it takes a lot of willpower to allow someone else to be responsible for your child.

Pierson revealed that her 8-year-old got her first sleepover invite, but she's planning on declining it as there are many dangers, explaining: "My daughter doesn't understand the risks that I know about after having been exposed to sexual abuse by a babysitter when I was 12."

"She doesn't know the things I know from working as an attorney reading case after case, bad law after bad law, about child abuse," she penned. "She doesn't know that most often it's those closest to us, those who have intimate access, who violate our trust and our physical integrity."

The writer explained that her concerns about sleepovers are "rooted" in her own experiences, adding: "What happened to me, and the area of law I plunged into once I became an attorney, is part of what feeds my fear of something happening to my girls."

Pierson is not alone in her thoughts as Erin Bailey, a criminal defense lawyer, shared a video on TikTok in hopes of opening the eyes of other parents who may not be aware of the risks that come with sleepovers.

Watch Bailey's video below:

"First and primarily is the SA (sexual assault) risk. While you may feel like you know the parents who are hosting the sleepover really well, and you know and love and trust them, that's exactly who's committing SA," she said, explaining that SA isn't committed by strangers or random people in the street, but from those that we least expect it from.

Secondly, she points out: "You may know the parents, but you don't know necessarily the neighbors, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the older siblings, the friends of the older siblings," or whoever else may be in the house at the same time."

Bailey goes on to say that you "don't really know what their rules are," in terms of walking in the neighborhood, or who they are allowed to speak to on video games, and concluded: "There's just too many variables, not to mention pew pews (guns) in the house, so it's just a no for us, no sleepovers."

Commenters were left split by her decision, with one user saying: "That’s insane. If my child wants to sleep over with a friend in their class, I am absolutely encouraging it. My best childhood memories were sleepovers."

Another chimed in: "Sleepovers are a really integral part of childhood development. I think building trust and communication with your child helps this too."

However, some people agreed with Bailey's reasonings as one person shared their own experience: "I was upset with my mom at first when she said no to sleepovers until something happened to a girl at a sleepover by the other girls' father."

A second interjected: "Sleepovers are terrifying. Even if you know the parents and they really are good people, you can't guarantee who else will have access to your child."

Featured image credit: Cappi Thompson / Getty

An Oregon father has been accused of drugging his daughter's 12-year-old friends at a sleepover last summer.

Michael Meyden, 57, allegedly gave three of his daughter's friends mango smoothies laced with benzodiazepine while they slept over on the night of August 25, 2023, according to court documents obtained by Oregon Live.

The girls, all 12 years old, were hospitalized and tested positive for the substance, which is described as a depressant that slows the nervous system and is normally prescribed for anxiety, with common prescriptions under the names Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin

The affidavit, which a Lake Oswego police detective wrote, did not disclose why Meyden allegedly served the children spiked smoothies.

The man allegedly gave three of his daughter's friends mango smoothies laced with benzodiazepine. Credit: Cappi Thompson / Getty

During the night of the sleepover, the father was highly involved in the girls’ activities and took them to get their nails done and picked up pizza for dinner, according to the affidavit.

Per NBC News, the pre-teens spent most of their time in the basement, where they were having a "spa night," so Meyden made them smoothies in milkshake-style glasses. One of the 12-year-olds told officers that she didn’t like the smoothies, but Meyden allegedly demanded she drink it and made her a second one to try.

He then continuously visited the basement throughout the night to see if they were awake by waving his hands or putting his finger under their noses. One girl recalled that Meyden moved her body, but she "remained awake" in fear that he was going to do something.

When the man left the room, one girl sent an urgent text to her mom for help at around 1:43AM, writing: "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!!"

The girl was eventually able to reach a family friend, who arrived and took her home. Eventually, two other parents also arrived to pick up their daughters, but he was reluctant to let them leave.

Authorities said in an affidavit that cops arrived at the hospital and said one of the 12-year-old girls "walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly," while another girl could not walk without assistance when her parents picked her up that night and kept repeating "what happened," according to PEOPLE.

Meyden turned himself in to the police and was indicted on nine felony and misdemeanor charges. Credit: Ftwitty / Getty

Meyden - who reportedly divorced his wife on October 17, less than two months after the sleepover - has now been charged with three felony counts of causing another person to consume a controlled substance.

He is also charged with three felony counts of applying a schedule IV controlled substance to the body of a minor, and three misdemeanor counts of delivering to a minor a schedule IV controlled substance.

His lawyer, Mark Cogan, revealed that his client turned himself in at the Clackamas County Jail on Thursday (February 29) following a grand jury indictment. Jail records acquired by outlets show he is no longer in custody as of Friday (February 1) morning. His Bail was issued at $50,000, which Meyden has posted, Cogan said.

"Mr. Meyden is presumed innocent," the attorney reportedly said in a statement. "We have not seen the evidence. The indictment was issued by a grand jury behind closed doors where no judge, no defense attorney, was allowed. And we hope that people will reserve judgment until all the facts are known."

Credit: Reggie Casagrande / Getty

Sleepovers are where a child's fondest memories are born, but to some parents, it is a nightmare.

Many people, including Carli Pierson for USA Today, are divided on the subject as it takes a lot of willpower to allow someone else to be responsible for your child.

Pierson revealed that her 8-year-old got her first sleepover invite, but she's planning on declining it as there are many dangers, explaining: "My daughter doesn't understand the risks that I know about after having been exposed to sexual abuse by a babysitter when I was 12."

"She doesn't know the things I know from working as an attorney reading case after case, bad law after bad law, about child abuse," she penned. "She doesn't know that most often it's those closest to us, those who have intimate access, who violate our trust and our physical integrity."

The writer explained that her concerns about sleepovers are "rooted" in her own experiences, adding: "What happened to me, and the area of law I plunged into once I became an attorney, is part of what feeds my fear of something happening to my girls."

Pierson is not alone in her thoughts as Erin Bailey, a criminal defense lawyer, shared a video on TikTok in hopes of opening the eyes of other parents who may not be aware of the risks that come with sleepovers.

Watch Bailey's video below:

"First and primarily is the SA (sexual assault) risk. While you may feel like you know the parents who are hosting the sleepover really well, and you know and love and trust them, that's exactly who's committing SA," she said, explaining that SA isn't committed by strangers or random people in the street, but from those that we least expect it from.

Secondly, she points out: "You may know the parents, but you don't know necessarily the neighbors, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the older siblings, the friends of the older siblings," or whoever else may be in the house at the same time."

Bailey goes on to say that you "don't really know what their rules are," in terms of walking in the neighborhood, or who they are allowed to speak to on video games, and concluded: "There's just too many variables, not to mention pew pews (guns) in the house, so it's just a no for us, no sleepovers."

Commenters were left split by her decision, with one user saying: "That’s insane. If my child wants to sleep over with a friend in their class, I am absolutely encouraging it. My best childhood memories were sleepovers."

Another chimed in: "Sleepovers are a really integral part of childhood development. I think building trust and communication with your child helps this too."

However, some people agreed with Bailey's reasonings as one person shared their own experience: "I was upset with my mom at first when she said no to sleepovers until something happened to a girl at a sleepover by the other girls' father."

A second interjected: "Sleepovers are terrifying. Even if you know the parents and they really are good people, you can't guarantee who else will have access to your child."

Featured image credit: Cappi Thompson / Getty