OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone charged with forced labor, sexual abuse
Founder of wellness company OneTaste, Nicole Daedone, and the firm’s former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, have been charged with running a coercive sex cult within the business over a 14-year period. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged the women with forced labour for allegedly pressuring staff into having sex with investors and clients. Prosecutors claim that OneTaste targeted vulnerable staff who had experienced sexual trauma, promising to help them heal their emotional and psychological wounds. Instead, members who resisted instructions were pushed into debt and subjected to emotional and psychological abuse. The company, founded in San Francisco in 2004, was accused of resembling a prostitution ring by former employees in 2018.
FAQs:
What is OneTaste?
OneTaste is a San Francisco-based wellness company that focuses on “orgasmic meditation.”
What are Daedone and Cherwitz accused of?
The women are accused of running a coercive sex cult within the company over a 14-year period. Prosecutors claim that OneTaste targeted vulnerable staff who had experienced sexual trauma, leading them into debt and subjecting them to abuse.
What is the alleged nature of the abuse?
Members who resisted instructions were reportedly subjected to emotional and psychological abuse, as well as “surveillance, indoctrination and intimidation.”
What was the 2018 accusation made against OneTaste?
In 2018, former OneTaste staffers and members claimed the company resembled a prostitution ring that exploited trauma victims and put people into debt.
What are the charges against Daedone and Cherwitz?
The women have been charged with forced labour conspiracy. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.
What was the role of investors and clients within the alleged scheme?
Prosecutors claim that investors and clients were also pressured into having sex with staff.
Nicole Daedone, founder of OneTaste, accused of subjecting individuals to forced labor and sexual abuse.
The founder of a wellness company, which focuses on “orgasmic meditation,” allegedly ran the business like a cult, coercing and grooming members to have sex with investors and clients for over a decade. Brooklyn federal prosecutors made the claim on Tuesday. Nicole Daedone, the founder of OneTaste or “orgasm cult,” and the controversial company’s former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz, were each charged with forced labor conspiracy for the scheme that was operated from 2004 to 2018. Daedone and Cherwitz allegedly targeted recruits who suffered from prior trauma, claiming to teach them to heal past sexual trauma and dysfunction. Instead, they forced them to accumulate debt and subjected them to “economic, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse” as well as “surveillance, indoctrination and intimidation” to work for free. They compelled members to live in communal homes while collecting intimate details about their lives and directed them to perform “uncomfortable or repulsive” sex acts, telling them it would lead to “freedom and enlightenment” and prove their loyalty to the company. They subjected members who didn’t comply to public shame, humiliation, and workplace retaliation. OneTaste was established in San Francisco in 2004, with operations in other cities, including New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Denver. The company was featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary “Orgasm Inc.” Former OneTaste staff members and members claimed the company was similar to a prostitution ring that exploited trauma victims and put people in debt. In California, Cherwtiz was arrested and expected to appear in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday. Daedone, who resides in San Diego, is currently at large. If convicted, Daedone and Cherwitz face a maximum sentence of 20 years.