Father who drugged smoothies at daughter's sleepover sentenced to two years in prison

The man who spiked his daughter's friend's smoothies while she slept has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Michael Meyden, 57, from Oregon, was arrested following accusations that he spiked the smoothies of his 12-year-old daughter's friends at a sleepover.

He is believed to have used benzodiazepine, a depressant that slows the nervous system, to drug the girls at his Lake Oswego home on Aug. 26 last year.

According to a police affidavit, Meyden repeatedly went to the basement where the girls were sleeping and did “tests” to see if they were sleeping.

After drinking them, one of the girls complained of feeling “dizzy, hot and clumsy” and another girl ended up texting her mother just before 2 a.m., begging her to come pick her up because she didn't feel safe.

He turned himself in to authorities in late February but pleaded not guilty to charges he faced, including causing another person to ingest a controlled substance, Lake Oswego police said.

According to court documents, Meyden changed his plea to guilty and has now been sentenced to two years in prison.

According to court documents, Meyden changed his plea to guilty and has now been sentenced to two years in prison. (Clackamas County Prosecutor's Office

He will also receive three years of post-prison supervision, with prosecutors adding that the dropped charges would not result in an extended sentence.

On Monday, June 10, he pleaded guilty in Clackamas County Circuit Court to three counts of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance, prosecutors and one of his attorneys, Jeff Turnoy, said.

According to The Independent, he apologized during his sentencing, telling the court: “My whole life is destroyed. Everything that was important to me up until that point is gone.”

He said the girls weren't going to bed at 11 p.m. like he had planned and he wanted to make sure they were fully rested for the next day – and that he could go to bed, too.

In court, two of the mothers addressed Meyden for his crimes and both argued for the maximum sentence of four and a half years, KFYRTV reports.

In court, two of the mothers addressed Meyden for his crimes, both pleading for the maximum sentence of four and a half years. (KPTV FOX 12 Oregon)

One of the mothers said: “I have cried and been angry while doing my best to shower my daughter with all the love and support I can give to help her heal from what you have done. Look at me.”

“No honest parent lays hands on drugged and unconscious young girls without nefarious intent. Don't think for a second that I don't know who or what you are.

Three of the victims involved also released statements and condemned Meyden.

One said: “My life has become hell because of you and your actions. I want you to see yourself as the monster that you are.

While another branded it “horrible”, adding: “You're a rotten old man who did this to children.”

Featured image credit: Clackamas County Prosecutor's Office/KFYRTV

Topics: Crime, American News