Three 12-year-old girls who were drugged by their friend's father at a sleepover last summer appeared in court this week, where they recalled the incident which left them 'traumatised'.
The unnamed youngsters were rushed to hospital following an evening at Oregon-local Michael Meyden's house on 26 August 2023, after one alerted their parents to the fact that they'd been given smoothies laced with drugs, and had 'tests' performed on them whilst they slept.
This week, the trio came face to face with the man they say 'abused' their trust - just minutes before he was sentenced to two years in prison - with one of the pre-teens claiming that Michael had made her life a 'living hell'.
Speaking to their parents, hospital staff and police following the incident last year, the schoolgirls alleged that Michael had been overly involved in the pre-arranged sleepover, consistently checking on the girls throughout the duration of the evening.
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They added at the time that between 9-11pm, he'd brought the group a batch of mango smoothies, which appeared to have 'tiny white chunks throughout and sprinkled on top'.
Meyden had allegedly encouraged the girls to drink them, even making a second batch when one of them said she wasn't keen on the taste.
Investigating officers later claimed that the probable affidavit was that Meyden had drugged the girls, after the girl that secretly didn't finish her drink claimed she'd witnessed him entering the room and performing 'tests' on them to see if they were sleeping.
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The terrified youngster claimed he'd placed a finger under one of their noses and waved a hand in front of another's face, after which she managed to secretly alert her parents via text and ask to be collected.
The mums and dads of the other sleepover attendees also went to Meyden's home to recover their girls, who were assessed at a hospital.
Meyden handed himself into the police back in February, where Lake Oswego Police Department declared that the father was allegedly 'responsible for the drugs detected in the girls' bloodstreams'.
Officers indicted him on nine felony and misdemeanour charges - including causing another individual to ingest a controlled substance.
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Speaking later to press, one of the girls' family members claimed the trio were 'terrified' about the prospect of having to 'face him' in court.
Despite initially pleading not guilty during the trial - which concluded on Monday - Meyden was seen breaking down in tears, admitting he only laced the girls' drinks with a prescription sedative because he 'wanted them to go to bed'.
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Judge Ann Lininger heard the three victims and their families claim the incident had taken them weeks to recover from, with the first claiming his actions caused her long-term harm.
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The first child told the court: "We were taught adults are people we can trust, people we can go to when we need help or when we are scared.
"Yet adults are not people I can simply trust anymore. They are people who scare me and make me think twice: What if they were to hurt me the same way as Mr. Meyden?"
She went on: "My life has become a living hell because of you and your actions.”
The second victim also revealed that she saw Meyden as her 'best friend's dad', and he'd 'abused' her trust.
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The third continued: "I am disgusted by the look of your face and your actions and all that you have done. You are horrible and I will always hate you for what you have done."
One of the girls' mothers also accused Meyden of 'playing Russian roulette' with her 'child's life'.
"She is barely 5 feet tall and on a good day 70 pounds soaking wet and you overdosed her," she went on.
Another parent hit out: "No decent parent feels the need to drug their own child and her friends. No decent parent feels the need to go down and confirm children are unconscious.
"No decent parent puts their hands on drugged and unconscious young girls without nefarious intent."
Replying to the accusations, Meyden told the court he accepted responsibility for his actions.
"My whole life is destroyed. Everything that was important to me up until that point is gone."
Judge Lininger told the perpetrator that she believed his 'shame and remorse' is 'authentic', saying: "I think you have created a lot of pain and you rightly note that your own family is suffering a lot.
"That is accountability you have earned through some terrible, dangerous choices you have made but that is not the last thing that happens in your life.
"You have decades and decades of life ahead in which you may have an opportunity to show your children how a person comes back from terrible choices."
Meyden will now spend two years in prison, but may get up to about five months off his sentence if he maintains a clean disciplinary record.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, US News, News
Rhianna Benson