This article describes child abuse. Please read with caution.
In Aug. 2023, three 12-year-old girls in Oregon gathered at a friend’s house for a sleepover. One friend’s father, Michael Meyden, hosted the gathering and made the children mango smoothies. One of the girls protested that she didn’t like smoothies, and didn’t finish hers. That choice may have saved her life.
According to Oregonlive, the sleepover was much like any other. The tweens spent most of their time in the basement, giving each other facials and watching movies. But somewhere between 9 and 11 p.m., one girl’s father, 57-year-old Michael Meyden, from Lake Oswego, near Portland, not only made the girls smoothies with mysterious white flakes on top and mixed into the drink. He was suspiciously insistent that the girls drink them.
The names of the three children are redacted in court documents, but one girl later said she felt “woozy, hot, and clumsy” after drinking the smoothie, and fell into a deeper sleep that night than she had ever experienced. Others said they felt groggy and blacked out. But the girl who didn’t finish her smoothie stayed awake, and later that night, it dawned on her what might have happened.
The late-night text message
Later that night, two girls were sound asleep in the basement, and one girl was only pretending. At that time, she reportedly witnessed as Michael Meyden snuck into the basement and tried to make sure the girls were unconscious, holding his finger under their noses, trying to move one of their arms and her body, and waving his hand in the face of another. The girl who didn’t finish her smoothie later told the police, “[She] remained awake in fear that Mr. Meyden was going to do something,” and said she could feel him watching her.
At around 2 a.m., the girl sent a desperate text message to her mother, which read “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 (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!!”
Meyden resisted letting the girls go home
Right away, that girl was retrieved from Michael Meyden’s home, and that girl’s parents alerted the other girl’s parents, who arrived around 3 a.m. demanding to see their child. At first, Meyden said no, they were sleeping. They insisted, however, and late the next day, at least one of the children still behaved like she was drugged, speaking and walking sluggishly, according to Lake Oswego detective Detective Nicole Palmeri.
In late Feb. 2024, Meyden was officially charged with giving benzodiazepine, a sedative, to the girls, including his daughter. Three drug tests confirmed the substance. Meyden turned himself in, according to Lake Oswego police. KIRO7.com says Meyden pleaded not guilty, and that to date, his motive for drugging the children remains unclear.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
