Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 'Monster' Dad Who Drugged Smoothies at Daughter's Sleepover Gives Bizarre Excuse for Creepy Behavior

Episode Date: June 12, 2024

 A father in Oregon has admitted to putting drugs in smoothies he made for his daughter's friends at a sleepover last August. Michael Meyden pleaded guilty to three felony charges for gi...ving the three, 12-year-old girls the drinks at his Lake Oswego home. Meyden is going to serve time in prison but it's not enough time as far as his victims are concerned. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy has details of the sentence and what Meyden and the victims said at the sentencing in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you experienced adverse side effects after taking Ozempic or another weight loss medication, check your eligibility to file a claim by visiting https://www.glp1case.com/crimefix?v=ocf11Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Chris Hansen https://www.instagram.com/officialchrishansen/CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoAudio Editing - Brad MaybeGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@LawandCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. The dad from Oregon accused of spiking smoothies for his daughter's friends at a sleepover admits to the crime, and now he's learned his punishment. I have the details from Michael Maiden's sentencing. Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette
Starting point is 00:00:25 Levy. Michael Maiden is going to prison for spiking mango smoothies that he gave to his daughter's friends, but his sentence isn't long enough for the girls he's now admitting to victimizing. Maiden was an architect living in a $1 million house in Lake Oswego last summer when he hosted a sleepover for his daughter and her friends. The girls were 12 years old last August when they were invited to Maiden's home for the sleepover with his daughter. The girls described Mr. Maiden to be very involved with their activities during the sleepover. Mr. Maiden had taken them to get their nails done, pick up a pizza for dinner, and directed their activities. The girls explained that Mr. Maiden was constantly
Starting point is 00:01:05 checking in on them and interjecting himself into their conversations. The girls stated they played in the sprinklers, went into the hot tub, took showers, and got ready for bed at Mr. Maiden's direction. The girls stated they spent the majority of their time in the basement where they were doing a quote spa night, watching movies while they did facials. Now, this is all according to an affidavit for a search warrant for Maiden's home. The girls told detectives that sometime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. last August 25th, Maiden made them the mango smoothies in milkshake-style glasses before they were told to go to bed. The smoothies's consistency was described as having a
Starting point is 00:01:45 thinner liquid with bubbles in it. Mr. Maiden specifically gave each of the girls specific colored reusable straws to distinguish their own drink. Mr. Maiden was adamant that the girls drink out of their own cups. The girls told detectives that Maiden insisted they go to bed around midnight, and two of the girls went to sleep on a pullout couch in the basement. The girls' names are redacted or blacked out in the search warrant affidavit, but it says one girl stated she and another girl were cuddling on the pullout couch. She explained she and the other girl were laying the same direction and her arm was over her body. She stated at some point that Mr. Maiden came downstairs and pretended to be asleep.
Starting point is 00:02:26 She stated he removed her arm from the other girl's body by moving the girl's body further toward the opposite side of the bed. This concerned the girl so much, so she rolled over her friend and placed her arm on her friend and remained awake in fear that Mr. Maiden was going to do something to her friend. The girl stated Mr. Maiden went upstairs. She stated that she remained awake in fear that Mr. Maiden was going to do something to her friend. The girl stated Mr. Maiden went upstairs. She stated that she remained awake and sometime after Maiden returned downstairs to check on them again. Now I told you when we covered this in the past that Maiden then returned to the basement and the girl who was awake said that she pretended to be asleep. The girl said she saw Mr. Maiden in the dim light place his finger underneath her nose as if to see if she was soundly asleep. He then waved his hand in front of her face. She stated
Starting point is 00:03:12 that she pretended to be asleep and shortly after he walked toward the sliding glass door and went outside into the backyard. The girl who was awake is the hero in this story because she trusted her gut and called for help. The girl texted her mom at 1.43 a.m. 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's mother didn't respond, so the girl texted a family friend who came to get her. The girl's parents went to Maiden's home to get the two other girls around 3 a.m. The search warrant affidavit quoted Maiden as telling the girl's mother, I don't understand when she knocked on the door and that he told her to come back in the morning because the girls were sleeping. The girl's mother told Maiden she was
Starting point is 00:04:00 taking the girls with her and she awoke them in the basement and took them with her. The girls were taken to a children's hospital where they tested positive for benzodiazepines. Those are a group of depressant drugs used to treat anxiety, depression, and seizures. Since Maiden was charged, court records showed his wife filed for divorce and he was living in a camper in Vancouver, Washington. He also tried to take his own life. But now in a hearing this week, Maiden pleaded guilty to felony charges of causing another person to ingest a controlled substance. Maiden was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years probation after his release. The victims in the case are furious. They don't think it's
Starting point is 00:04:42 enough time. One of the girls said, I trusted him because he was my best friend's dad. He abused that trust. Another girl was quoted as telling Maiden and the judge, 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. A third girl told Maiden, my life has become a living hell because of you and your actions. She also called him a monster. A report in the Lake Oswego Review quoted Maiden as denying he had any nefarious intentions or that he planned to do something sexual to the girls. As parents, we all fail, but I failed in the most spectacular way possible.
Starting point is 00:05:21 It was my fault and it was also bad judgment. Maiden is also quoted as saying, I wanted it to be a big kickoff event that everyone would brag about. People want to assume the worst. I never thought of that. The website reported Maiden said, I want to make it up to you. I know sorry doesn't cover this at all. I don't know what to do. The Clackamas County District Attorney's Office declined my request for an interview, but I was given a statement from DA John Wentworth that says, Mr. Maiden's actions are inexcusable and reckless and require a punishment commensurate with the
Starting point is 00:05:56 crime. The impact this event has had on the child victims, their families, and our community has been enormous. This is another law and crime legal alert. Have you experienced severe gastroparesis or other side effects after taking Ozempic or another GLP-1 weight loss medication? The Ozempic lawsuits allege that the drug can lead to severe intestinal blockage and persistent vomiting, and that manufacturers allegedly failed to provide adequate warning about these risks. True Law, one of our legal sponsors, is helping those injured file a claim through an experienced attorney who helps ensure your claim is thoroughly presented. Visit www.glp1case.com to answer less than 10 questions and check your eligibility to file a claim. I want to bring in somebody who has a lot of experience in cases like this one. He's Chris
Starting point is 00:06:50 Hansen. He's the host of Takedown with Chris Hansen, also the co-founder of the True Blue Crime Streaming Network. Chris, the victim's families in this case are outraged. They wanted a 54-month prison sentence instead. Michael Maiden gets 24 months. Your thoughts? Well, I would be outraged too if I were a parent. I mean, look at the facts of this case, Anjanette. You had a guy who drugged young girls at a sleepover and now says that the only reason he did it was to calm them down so they could sleep and have energy the next day. I don't buy it. This pattern of behavior is consistent with somebody who is not up to any good. And you have to wonder what would have happened had some of these girls reported to their parents
Starting point is 00:07:43 that they didn't feel right, there was something wrong, they didn't get the kids out of there. The whole thing is suspicious to me. I mean, why do you do that? It doesn't make sense. If you're that concerned about girls staying up late, you don't have the sleepover. And so it appears that he's come up with an excuse that somehow, you know, flew with the prosecutors who accepted this deal. Now he's, you know, he's going to be punished, but boy, it seems like he's getting
Starting point is 00:08:13 off easy. I'm stunned that prosecutors who deal with crime on a daily basis, I'm assuming that they deal with serious crimes on a daily basis, bought this excuse. I mean, if you, you call the girl's parents, if you are saying, hey, I'm worried that the girls aren't going to get a good enough sleep, night sleep, you know, maybe I give them a melatonin. The guy put a controlled substance in smoothies and didn't tell the girls and insisted they drink the whole thing. So how are these prosecutors coming up in their heads with, oh, we couldn't find any nefarious, like there wasn't nefarious intent or sexual intent or something.
Starting point is 00:08:58 Thank God there was no nefarious act. We won't know the intent because that lies inside the mind of this this man but chris these prosecutors think there wasn't any like sexual intent i mean i don't know where they're getting that i mean i don't buy it you know and again you know i look at the world sometimes uh very uh in a very dark way because of these predator investigations. I mean, we had a guy show up in a sting just last week who was on the sexual offender registry who had done seven years in prison for being busted in 2002 for having sex with his girlfriend's 13-year-old daughter.
Starting point is 00:09:41 And now he's in my sting house to meet a teenage girl who in this, this scenario was being, you know, sold by her aunt for sex. And the transcripts were there. He comes in, he sits down. I knew the background. We knew he was a registered sex offender when he walked in, but you know, some of these guys just never will learn. And again, maybe the prosecutors, I don't have every single, you know, insight into this case. Maybe the prosecutors didn't feel that they could prove charges above and beyond what they were able to get him to plead guilty to. But the whole thing, it's just so dark, so disturbing, and so potentially predatory that it cries out for more severe punishment, I think. Well, one of the girls' mothers did not buy it either.
Starting point is 00:10:35 And she said that there was an area of the house where there were some sex toys found, which, you know, I mean, that happens. People have those things in their houses. But obviously, the girl's parents don't believe that he didn't have an intent that wasn't of a sexual nature. Now, we don't know because we don't know this guy. But what we do know is that he put benzos in their smoothies. And then he's going down and putting fingers under noses to see that they're asleep and checking to see that they're asleep and he's doing it two or three times and he's freaking the one girl out enough that thank god she calls the neighbor for her a family friend for help after she can't reach her parents and they scoop up the girls and they get
Starting point is 00:11:21 the girls out of there i get that he doesn't have a criminal history, but how many cases, Chris, do you and I cover where the person gets caught and it's their first time getting caught? I mean, to me, the way this plays out, it was like he was having his little fantasy. He had these young girls over there. He's got his plan, whatever it is. He gives them these smoothies, which are drugged, they're laced, and then checks to make sure that they're sufficiently asleep to do what?
Starting point is 00:11:55 I mean, what do you think he had up his sleeve? What do you think his intent was? It was nothing good. I mean, just drugging anybody without their permission is a horrible thing to do. That in itself is predator-like and deserves a prison sentence, severe punishment. And then you add on to it what could have happened had one of the girls not been alert enough and concerned enough to call for help. The DA, you know, would not grant our request for an interview. He basically said that, you know, they could not.
Starting point is 00:12:34 This is inexcusable and reckless behavior. It required punishment, commensurate with the crime. The impact this event has had on the child victims, their family, and our community has been enormous. I mean, sleepovers, I'm not a big fan of sleepovers anyway, but I think that this is a lesson to all parents to ensure that when you let your kids go sleep over at somebody's house, that you know them very well, that you trust them implicitly, and you have a better relationship with them than just oh it's my my daughter's friend from school I I just I think this is exhibit A because this is a
Starting point is 00:13:12 guy who was a successful um he was successful in his field million dollar house looks great on the outside but you go into that nice looking house that looks picture perfect on the outside you never know what is going on behind closed doors and this happened behind closed doors as these girls are getting their nails done and going to the movie and watching movies in the basement and hanging out at this guy's house well I agree with you I'm not a big fan of sleepovers either and and for this specific reason but when you know my kids were younger they're all grown reason, but when, you know, my kids were younger, they're all grown up now. But when they were younger, you know, I wouldn't let them go over to somebody's house unless I knew that family personally. And unless I had a relationship with them through the school or friends in the neighborhood, it just wouldn't happen.
Starting point is 00:14:00 And I have boys, you know, and obviously with girls, there's a little more sensitivity, but you got to be careful with all kids. And God knows what could have happened had this girl not have been aware enough and had alarm bells not gone off and had she not called for help. We could be having a whole, we might not even know about it, number one, but number two, it might be a whole different scenario. Thank God nobody was assaulted in this. But the fact that they were given drugs against their will,
Starting point is 00:14:34 I mean, that's an assault in and of itself. And that, to me, is inexcusable. I get the DA's point of view. He's got to take the case he's given and do the best he can. And so I'm sure there was a thought that, you know, this is as hard as it can go. And we're going to take the plea and call it a victory. And I see a lot of pleas in predator cases because, quite honestly, a lot of these jurisdictions are overwhelmed. They've got 100 murder cases waiting to be tried.
Starting point is 00:15:04 And they've got some guy who was caught in a sting. Thankfully he was caught. And, and these often end in, in plea agreements. And if there's no prior criminal history, they get a, you know, a little better deal, obviously, but you know, hopefully it will keep an eye on him. He will have to report and, and God, get some help at least. I mean, who does who does this it's it's inexcusable offensive and predatory one thing that's also concerning about this i mean there's a chance that one of these girls given their body chemistry their body weight could have maybe not awakened from this i
Starting point is 00:15:41 mean one of the parents oregonlive.com quotes one of the parents is telling the court and Maiden in her victim impact statement you played Russian roulette with my child's life she is barely five feet tall and on a good day 70 pounds soaking wet and you overdosed her she said the medical testing showed the level of drugs and her child's system was quote off the charts so that right there, I mean, thank God they weren't assaulted, but thank God they woke up and made it out of there safely. Right. Or even, you know, I'm sure there was some ill feeling, if not illness, that resulted from this. You can't do this. I mean, you trust your child with a grownup, the parent of a school friend, and he does this, I mean,
Starting point is 00:16:28 I would think that there's some civil liability here as well. And I hope the parents take action beyond the criminal charges. I hope they do because this fellow should be made an example of. There is no possible excuse, defense, or reason for this activity. None. One of the girls talked about her trust being broken. I mean, how are these girls going to ever trust anybody again? Well, they certainly won't be going on any sleepovers, no matter whose family it is. I mean, imagine the insecurity of an already vulnerable adolescent. I mean, right? The stage of life is difficult enough as it is.
Starting point is 00:17:13 I mean, remember when you were that age, when I was that age, it's a tough time. And then have some creep who's the father of a friend violate you at this most vulnerable time in your life? Lock him up. I mean, there's no gray area here, none whatsoever. No, there definitely isn't. And this was his medication too. I mean, he used his own medication according to all the reporting to drug these girls. Chris Hansen, thanks so much for coming on. Michael Maiden getting 24 months in prison after pleading guilty. He claims, you know, this was bad judgment. I'd call it pretty, pretty bad judgment. And he'll do three years on post-release supervision,
Starting point is 00:17:52 otherwise known as probation. Thank you so much. Thank you, Anjanette. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.

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