The charismatic sex guru who once gained a devoted following for her controversial “orgasmic meditation” classes has been criminally charged with running a forced labor program.
Nicole Daedone, 56, and her top lieutenant Rachel Cherwitz, 43, were charged in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday in New York, accusing them of coercing OneTaste members into sexual acts using cult-like tactics.
Daedone was the “messianic” guru who co-founded OneTaste, a San Francisco-based sexual wellness company specializing in orgasmic meditation (OM), in 2004 that promised to help clients ‘reclaim their sexuality’.
The practice involves a woman, naked from the waist down, methodically “caressing” her clitoris for exactly 15 minutes by a man, either her own partner or another paying customer.
Cherwitz, who was head of sales for OneTaste, was arrested Tuesday morning in California, while Daedone remains at large and is believed to be abroad, according to court documents.
Sex guru Nicole Daedone is currently at large after being charged with US federal criminal charges
OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, 56, (left) and her top lieutenant Rachel Cherwitz, 43, (right) were charged in a federal indictment accusing them of taking forced labor
OM exploded in popularity after a 2009 New York Times profile of OneTaste, and at one point the company was reportedly raking in $12 million a year from enthusiastic customers.
But in 2018, the FBI launched an investigation into OneTaste after ex-customers came forward saying they were in debt after paying for expensive lessons, and former employees said they were told to engage in sexual relations with potential customers in order to close the sale.
Now, prosecutors say, between 2004 and 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz employed a series of abusive and manipulative tactics to obtain the labor and services of a group of OneTaste members, including volunteers, contractors and employees.
The indictment alleges that the duo used tactics to make the OneTaste members dependent on the group for their shelter and basic needs, and to limit the members’ independence and control.
Many OneTaste members lived in “residential warehouses” where they attended courses and sexually experimented, and prosecutors say they were subjected to “constant surveillance” and isolated from friends and family.
“While employing such tactics, Daedone and Cherwitz demanded absolute commitment to Daedone, including by glorifying Daedone’s teachings and ideology,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“As part of this ideology, Daedone and Cherwitz instructed OneTaste members to perform sexual acts — including those that the members found uncomfortable or repulsive — as a requirement to supposedly gain freedom and enlightenment and demonstrate their commitment to OneTaste and Daedone the statement said. added.
Prosecutors say they demanded forced labor from group members who were subjected to “economic, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse, surveillance, indoctrination and harassment.”
Daedone and Cherwitz are each charged with conspiracy to violate federal laws prohibiting the use of forced labor.
If convicted, Daedone and Cherwitz each face a maximum prison term of 20 years.
The company used to have several buildings in San Francisco, including a café, event space, and community housing, known as “OM Houses,” where between 30 and 40 employees lived together. In the photo one of the buildings that were once used as dormitories of OneTaste
Pictured above is an OM class in which a woman, naked from the waist down, has her clitoris methodically “caressed” by a man for exactly 15 minutes
In December, Daedone illustrated the intimate hands-on techniques of her partner Cherwitz, who lay naked on a raised table in front of an audience of 200
Prosecutors say that when members could no longer afford OneTaste classes, they were pressured to go into debt, and Daedone and Cherwitz sometimes even helped them open new credit cards.
At one point, OneTaste operated centers in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, Boulder, Los Angeles, Austin, and London.
In New York City, OneTaste rented residences and hosted events in several locations, including in Brooklyn and the Harlem, Hells Kitchen, Soho, and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan.
“Under the guise of empowerment and welfare, the defendants allegedly sought complete control over their employees’ lives, including by putting them into debt and ordering them to perform sexual acts, while also withholding wages,” said Breon. Peace, United States Attorney. for the Eastern District of New York.
“This prosecution should serve as a reminder to both employer and employee that regardless of the marketing mantra, this behavior is never acceptable,” Peace added.
Prosecutors say Daedone was OneTaste’s CEO and leader from the company’s inception until about 2017, while Cherwitz was head of sales from about 2009 to 2018.
Cherwitz was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday and will be extradited to New York, where charges have been filed. It was unclear if she had a lawyer speaking on her behalf.
Daedone remains at large and did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment from DailyMail.com. Court documents indicate that the US government believes it is currently outside the country.
She has previously denied running a sex cult, telling the Mail on Sunday last year: ‘I want to continue the work to get OM out into the world. It’s such a powerful practice and we have a world that is so starved of anything that will bring fundamental connection.”
After the disturbing allegations that surfaced in a 2018 Bloomberg report, Daedone has kept a largely low profile and OneTaste has virtually disappeared from public view.
Daedone has previously denied running a sex cult, telling the Mail on Sunday last year: ‘I want to continue the work to get OM out into the world’
In 2020, the controversy resurfaced when the BBC published a podcast called The Orgasm Cultexploring the company’s journey from “from fringe origins to sleek wellness stardom, to an FBI investigation.”
Last year, a Netflix documentary with a similar focus also brought OneTaste back into the spotlight.
But in December 2022, DailyMail.com was there when she gave a special live demonstration of her OM technique at the Playa Studios in Culver City, California.
Daedone illustrated the intimate hands-on techniques on her partner Cherwitz, who lay naked on a raised table in front of an audience of 200.
The event was part of an effort to rebrand OneTaste and launch one-day courses in Los Angeles and New York costing $149.
In comments after the event, Dadone told DailyMail.com she was trying to rebrand OneTaste as less about sex and more about science.
As for the backlash she experienced, she said, “I realized that I was fundamentally not communicating what we were really doing. And so we’re really focused on the science so that people can understand it in a different way.’