A young girl urgently contacted her mother to pick her up from a friend’s residence after being drugged by the friend’s father during a sleepover. Michael Meyden spiked mango smoothies with a sedative called Temazepam, which is used to treat insomnia, for his daughter and her friends.
Despite the father’s insistence on consuming the smoothies, one of the girls who did not drink it repeatedly messaged her parents and family friends for help. She pleaded for her mother to pick her up due to feeling unsafe and not responding properly.
After being rescued by a family friend and taken home, the girl’s parents retrieved the other two friends and rushed them to the hospital. Both friends tested positive for benzodiazepine, with one experiencing symptoms like drowsiness, high body temperature, and clumsiness after consuming the spiked smoothie.
One of the girls reported that Meyden entered the basement where they were sleeping and moved a child to a different position on the bed while they pretended to be asleep. Meyden later returned to check on the child’s breathing and ensure she was deeply asleep.
During Meyden’s sentencing, one victim expressed the impact of the incident on her life, referring to him as a monster. Another victim condemned Meyden, calling him a “rotten old man.” Meyden and his ex-wife settled a civil lawsuit filed by one victim’s father, but the settlement amount remains undisclosed.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2024, sought $2.4 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and battery. Meyden pleaded guilty to three felony counts related to the drugging and was sentenced to two years in prison in June 2024.