The founder of an infamous 'orgasm cult' has been sentenced to nine years in prison after a New York jury found her guilty of criminal exploitation.
Nicole Daedone set up her OneTaste sexual wellness company in 2004 and it exploded in size, reaching several major cities in the US as well as London, while also receiving praise from celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Khloé Kardashian.
OneTaste was soon a $12 million a year business after it promised wellness and empowerment for its members, but it was actually later found to be criminal exploitation, as members were reportedly groomed and pressured into having sex with prospective investors.
Daedone and her former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz were both accused of subjecting members to 'economic, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, surveillance, indoctrination and intimidation' by federal prosecutors.
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OneTaste - which became notorious following Netflix's 2022 documentary Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste - was known for a practice called orgasmic meditation (dubbed OM, pronounced 'ohm').
It involved the clitoral stimulation of partially nude women by clothed men in 15-minute sessions, sometimes in front of a group or paying audience.
In a TEDx talk in 2011, Daedone claimed she first discovered the practice from a man she met at a party.
She said he told her: "You are going to take off your pants and I am going to leave my clothes on. And then you're going to lie down and I am going to put all of my attention on you for 15 minutes."
She said: "The tears just started flooding. Something began to thaw in me. I have never been looked at or felt that kind of compassion in that area before."
But what was dressed up as a business about female empowerment had a dark underbelly.
During the trial, the jury had heard how both Daedone and Cherwitz exploited members when they were unable to pay the $60,000 annual membership fees of the course, forcing them into manual labour or sexual services, sometimes for seven days a week.
Several witnesses took to the stand in New York, sharing their experiences of the abusive and manipulative tactics they were forced to endure at OneTaste.
Leaders threatened them with termination, demotion, ostracism and financial and spiritual ruin should they not perform the manual labour or sex acts that were utilised on prospective clients or investors.
Three witnesses even suggested that they became 'handlers' for Daedone's boyfriend at the time, Reese Jones, an early investor who on one occasion lent OneTaste $1 million.
They said they were coerced into living with him, while also providing domestic labour and sexual acts.
As reported by Courthouse News Service, one victim named Dana testified that she was told to walk Jones around on a leash and whip him with cattails.
The New Yorker reports she told the court: "I had to cook him breakfast, I took him for walks and hung out with him, and then I would sexually service him."
She moved in with him for three months and said she understood that sex was expected of her. She claims she was also told to have sex with OneTaste's high-paying clients.
Another victim, Michal, told the court, as reported by the New York Post: “I trusted Nicole... in reality, I fell into Nicole’s trap. I was a perfect target because I was a vulnerable woman looking to improve my life.”
On Monday, Daedone was sentenced for her role in a forced labour conspiracy following a five-week trial, with Cherwitz also expected to spend 78 months in prison.
Although the 58-year-old had sold her stake in the company back in 2017 for $12 million (£9m), she must now pay that fee back, while seven victims received a combined fee of close to $900k in damages.
“This case exposed a decade-long scheme in which the defendants used psychological, emotional, and financial coercion to control their victims and extract labour and services for their own benefit,” said Joseph Nocella, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“Coercion disguised as wellness or empowerment is still exploitation and it is a crime that causes harm to vulnerable victims. The defendants’ combination of forced labour with sexual exploitation caused trauma to the victims in ways that extend beyond lost wages or long hours.”
James Barnacle, assistant director in charge at the FBI, said: “For decades Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz preyed on vulnerable women, coercing them into a calculated forced labour conspiracy.
“These defendants subjected their victims to repeated psychological manipulation and sexual abuse to obtain unpaid or underpaid labor and services for their personal and financial benefit.”
Despite the substantial evidence that was brought against Daedone in New York, she retains support in some spheres, with The West Wing actor Richard Schiff suggesting that she deserved leniency because she has 'spent her life trying to bring compassion, awareness, and honesty to a part of human experience that is often shamed or misunderstood'.
OneTaste has now been rebranded as the Institute of OM Foundation. Current CEO Anjuli Ayer said Daedone's sentencing was 'a terrifying day for freedom'.
She told the Wall Street Journal outside the courthouse: "Nicole and the practice of orgasmic meditation saved my life."
On the day of her setencing, Daedone's Instagram account shared a quote credited to the disgraced former CEO: "Free your soul so that you may be free in any condition whatsoever. And in the process, become someone, who by your very existence, frees others.”
James Moorhouse