Two women who ran the San Francisco-based wellness company OneTaste, which promoted the physical and spiritual health benefits of the female orgasm, were convicted Monday in federal court in Brooklyn.
The former leaders of OneTaste, former CEO Nicole Daedone and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, were convicted Monday of forced labor conspiracy following a one-month trial. Prosecutors argued that both women had subjected their victims, all former employees of OneTaste, "to economic, sexual, emotional, financial, and psychological abuse, as well as surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation." The trial also discussed ways in which OneTaste members were coerced into spending large sums on courses and forcefully discouraged from leaving the group.
As the New York Times notes, while previous trials involving sex cults and forced labor schemes have included more direct evidence of blackmail or threats of violence, this case involved other forms of coercion which the jury apparently found convincing.
Testimony at trial included testimony from former employees who described a highly sexually charged environment in which the lines between personal and professional were constantly blurred. OneTaste kept a communal house in Harlem where Daedone reportedly had her own private room, and employees were tasked with cleaning up after her and her sexual exploits. Employees also described having to perform sexual favors for, and sadomasochistic acts on, Daedone's romantic partner.
Joseph Nocella Jr., the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, issued a statement saying, "The jury’s verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants’ benefit."
"Today's verdict sends a clear message — controlling your labor force by relying on lies, manipulation, and abuse is a crime," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia, in a statement.
Daedone, a former sex worker and an acolyte of the Bay Area's Purple People and "responsible hedonism" guru Dr. Victor Baranco, maintains her innocence and vowed outside the Brooklyn courthouse Monday to appeal her conviction.
"There is nothing but the spiritual aim that I set out for, and that’s the liberation of all people, and the liberation of women. I’ll do that wherever I am," Daedone said, per the Times.
Daedone and Cherwitz will face sentencing in September, and both face up to 20 years in prison.
OneTaste was founded in San Francisco in 2004, and Daedone said that she based her coursework on Buddhist teachings, as well as her own knowledge of female pleasure from her time as a sex worker. She was vaunted on the TED Talk circuit, and at one point OneTaste had outposts in nine countries, with offices in LA, New York, Austin, Denver, London, and elsewhere.
Then came a 2013 Gawker piece titled "My Life With the Thrill-Clit Cult," and a damning 2018 expose by Bloomberg that appears to have led directly to the federal investigation. Then Netflix gave it the documentary treatment in 2022's Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste. Daedone and Cherwitz were then indicted by the feds in June 2023.
Previously: Founders of OneTaste, the Cult-y SF Orgasm Group, Begin Federal Trial In NY
Top image: Nicole Daedone attends the 2024 Dream.Org "We, The Dream" Inaugural Gala, celebrating justice and environmental champions, on October 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Dream.Org)
