This link to the newspaper will probably be de-activated so here's the actual article:
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Scott Meyers, 43, of Mokelumne Hill, was featured in "Small Town Ecstasy" shown on HBO in April.
Video: Watch the HBO trailer
Sacramento Police Department
Televised use of drugs leads to father's arrest
Child-endangerment charges follow apparent sharing of Ecstasy with his kids on HBO show.
By Niesha Gates -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Friday, June 14, 2002
An HBO documentary showing a father taking drugs with his teenage children at a Sacramento house party led to the father's arrest this week on suspicion of two counts of child endangerment, authorities said.
Authorities arrested Mokelumne Hill resident Scott Meyers, 43, Wednesday after a Sacramento County judge signed a warrant for his arrest. The warrant was issued based on footage from the HBO documentary "Small Town Ecstasy" that aired April 28, Sacramento Police Sgt. Justin Risley said Thursday.
"The reason we got involved is because a lot of the taped HBO footage occurred in a private residence on La Riviera Drive," Risley said.
Calaveras County sheriff's deputies have been investigating the case, turning information over to the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
Meyers was being held Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Sacramento County jail, where he declined an interview. He was scheduled for arraignment today on two felony counts.
The HBO documentary was taped two years ago and shows Meyers taking Ecstasy with his 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, said Calaveras County District Attorney Jeff Tuttle.
Ecstasy, the street name for MDMA, is an illegal hallucinogenic drug that is popular at rave parties.
Based on what he saw, Tuttle said the charges filed against Meyers were appropriate. Tuttle is also concerned about HBO's role in the project.
"I don't think it's appropriate to stand by and watch kids take drugs without doing something about it," Tuttle said. "They were taking pictures to make money off it. I don't like the morality of that."
HBO officials declined to talk about the arrest Thursday.
The footage from Sacramento in "Small Town Ecstasy" was taken in October 2000. Meyers was arrested in November 2000 by Calaveras County deputies for possessing a small amount of Ecstasy and pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in March, the Modesto Bee reported. He was referred to a diversion program.
Meyers, who is divorced, has four children. When the tape was made, he had custody of his daughter, then 15. A son, then 13, lived with his ex-wife. The couple have two grown children.
The documentary shows Meyers participating with drugs in raves and house parties with three of his children, including the two youngest, the Modesto Bee reported.
Meyers' ex-wife, Sheryl Mettler, came forward with information for the sheriff's investigation about Meyers' "new lifestyle" out of concern for her children, said Calaveras Sheriff's Capt. Michael Walker. She was unavailable for comment Thursday.
"We have interviewed a lot of people in this case, and people in the community are outraged at his behavior and the position he placed his kids in," Walker said. "His attitude was that he's a free spirit and his children will grow up to make their own decisions."
On Thursday, the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department issued a news release that said deputies are investigating possible charges of child endangerment in Calaveras County for times when Meyers allowed minors to consume alcoholic beverages in his home.
