By Corinne Ramey

The founder of sexual-wellness company OneTaste was convicted Monday of criminal conspiracy for a yearslong effort to exploit employees to grow her business.

A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted both founder Nicole Daedone and a top deputy, Rachel Cherwitz, of the single count of conspiracy to commit forced labor they faced.

Daedone founded OneTaste in 2004 in San Francisco to teach a practice she called orgasmic meditation. During the practice, a partner strokes a woman's genitals for 15 minutes. The goal is to use arousal to reach a heightened or enlightened state.

The trial, which lasted more than a month, revolved around the testimony of women whom prosecutors portrayed as victims but defense attorneys said willingly participated in the company's activities. Neither defendant took the stand. Supporters of the two women, many of whom are still involved with OneTaste, regularly attended the trial.

Hanging over the trial were questions about whether OneTaste was a cult. Some witnesses described it that way, pointing to OneTaste's communal living arrangements and Daedone's guru-like presence.

"The defendants created an environment where OneTaste was not just a company," prosecutor Nina Gupta told the jury. "It was an entire way of life, complete with its own rituals, language and philosophy." Gupta said in the early years, some participants slept in a San Francisco warehouse and shared beds with sexual "research partners" selected by Daedone herself.

Under questioning by a defense attorney, the group's co-founder Robert Kandell said OneTaste was a cult, because it had a subculture. He then agreed that CrossFit, Bikram yoga, pickleball, veganism and "definitely" the Catholic church could be classified that way, too.

Prosecutors argued that OneTaste promoted women's liberation to its customers but in fact was based on sexual coercion of female workers. Daedone assigned some participants to provide bizarre sexual services and fulfill fantasies to court an early investor, prosecutors said. In one case, they said, a victim used a dog collar and leash to walk the investor around like a puppy.

As time went on, Gupta said, Daedone put a "professional gloss" on her company. The prosecutor said that as the company expanded to other cities -- including Los Angeles, London, Boulder, Colo., and New York -- Daedone and Cherwitz manipulated employees into working long hours for little pay.

"This was all a money grab," Gupta told the jury.

Lawyers for the defendants argued the alleged victims participated in OneTaste courses of their own free will, and employees chose to work for the unusual company. Most OneTaste participants were highly educated people who took classes or lived communally because they were seeking to experiment sexually, defense attorney Celia Cohen told the jury. Participants testified they benefited from the practice.

"These were people, again, in their 20s who signed up with their eyes wide open," Cohen said. "They didn't say to Rachel or Nicole, 'I don't want to do this job.' Until they didn't. And they left."

OneTaste remains active and last year began operating out of a rental space in East Harlem. The company, whose current leadership seeks to expand the practice of orgasmic meditation, holds lectures, classes and demonstrations. It also promotes scientific research into the practice.

Daedone in 2017 sold her stake in the company to three OneTaste practitioners. Cherwitz currently works for OneTaste.

Write to Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2025 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)

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