Founder of OneTaste convicted of forced labour conspiracy over sexual exploitation of employees

Alongside Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, a senior figure at the company, was also convicted on the same charge

The founder of sexual wellness company OneTaste, Nicole Daedone, was convicted Monday of conspiracy to commit forced labour after a federal jury in Brooklyn found that she and a top deputy exploited employees for years to grow the business. Prosecutors said OneTaste staff were coerced into gruelling work, including providing sexual services to clients under the guise of personal development, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Alongside Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, a senior figure at the company, was also convicted on the same charge. “The jury’s verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims,” said Joseph Nocella Jr., the interim U.S. attorney in Brooklyn.

Daedone and Cherwitz plan to appeal the decision. “The fight is only beginning,” said Daedone’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean. A OneTaste spokesman criticized the outcome, claiming the verdict was “the criminalization of regret and a retroactive rewriting of consensual experiences.”

A sexual wellness company with cult-like practices

Founded in San Francisco in 2004, OneTaste taught a technique called orgasmic meditation, where a partner stimulates a woman’s genitals for 15 minutes to achieve a heightened state. Over time, the company expanded to cities like Los Angeles, London, Boulder, and New York.

The month-long trial hinged on testimony from women who prosecutors said were victims of coercion, though defence attorneys argued they had willingly participated. Neither Daedone nor Cherwitz testified. Supporters of the two women, many of whom remain involved with OneTaste, attended the trial in large numbers.

The trial also raised broader questions about whether OneTaste operated as a cult. Prosecutor Nina Gupta argued that Daedone cultivated an environment where OneTaste became “an entire way of life,” with communal living, rituals, and a philosophy that encouraged total immersion. Early participants reportedly slept in a San Francisco warehouse and were assigned sexual “research partners” by Daedone.

Under cross-examination, OneTaste co-founder Robert Kandell described the group as a cult because it had a distinct subculture but added that other communities—including CrossFit, Bikram yoga, and even the Catholic church—could also be viewed that way.

Sexual coercion and financial exploitation

Prosecutors said OneTaste’s public message of women’s empowerment masked a reality of sexual coercion and financial exploitation. Employees were allegedly forced to fulfil sexual fantasies to attract early investors and pressured into unpaid or low-paid labour under Daedone’s leadership.

One of the more disturbing accounts presented involved a female employee who was ordered to use a dog collar and leash to walk an investor around like a puppy. “This was all a money grab,” Gupta told the jury, arguing that Daedone and Cherwitz manipulated employees to enrich themselves.

The defense: participation was voluntary

Defense attorneys countered that OneTaste’s participants were highly educated adults who joined voluntarily to explore sexuality. “These were people, again, in their 20s who signed up with their eyes wide open,” said defence attorney Celia Cohen. “They didn’t say to Rachel or Nicole, ‘I don’t want to do this job.’ Until they didn’t. And they left.”

Daedone sold her stake in OneTaste for $12 million in 2017 but remains a polarizing figure. Cherwitz continues to work for the company, which now operates out of East Harlem and promotes scientific research into orgasmic meditation.

OneTaste remains active despite the legal controversy and continues to hold lectures, classes, and demonstrations for a loyal following.