Government wraps ‘sex cult’ case in Brooklyn
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BROOKLYN (CN) — After four weeks of testimony, federal prosecutors rested their case Monday against two former leaders of OneTaste, a Bay Area company that marketed sex acts as meditation. Jurors must now decide whether the group’s tactics crossed the line into forced labor conspiracy.
The company’s founder, Nicole Daedone, 57, and former head of sales, Rachel Cherwitz, 44, each face one count that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
OneTaste’s core product was “orgasmic meditation” or OM, pronounced like the sacred sound and spiritual symbol commonly invoked in yoga and meditation. Despite its branding, “OMing” is a far cry from those ancient practices; instead, it’s a 15-minute partnered practice that involves stroking a woman’s genitals — or in the case of “male OMing,” giving a man a hand job.
Trial witnesses described an environment of high control with cruel and abusive managers who preached women’s empowerment. Still, they ordered them to sexually service men, via the “OM” practice and otherwise, particularly potential investors and high-paying clients.
Founded in San Francisco in 2004, the company established branches in New York City, London, Austin, Texas, and Boulder, Colorado, and later sold the city branches to franchisees. Daedone sold her shares in the business for $12 million in 2017. Her co-founder, Rob Kandell, an unindicted conspirator who testified under subpoena with government immunity, was bought out for $1.5 million three years earlier.
While defense lawyers have characterized the OneTaste community as a sexually liberated environment where open relations flourished, former employees labeled it a strictly managed sex cult where leaders assigned members “research partners” to share a bed and “OM” with, and broke up relationships that didn’t serve the group’s interests. They were ordered to end relationships that didn’t serve the group.
Several employees worked for years to pay off thousands of dollars in debt for monthslong courses that cost over $10,000 to become trained as an “OM” coach.
In those courses, Daedone was described as a “guru” who drew in followers with ideas borrowed from various religions, cults, and BDSM practices. She also espoused controversial ideas about sexual assault: In videos shown in court, she cast aspersions at rape victims and explained that her father, who she claims was a serial child molester, was not a bad person. Rather, she said, “He was so fourth dimensional that he couldn’t confine himself to the arbitrary laws of the third dimension,” using terms pulled from Alcoholics Anonymous, which Daedone adopted as part of the OneTaste vernacular.
In court, usually clad in an oversized beige shawl, Daedone spends much of the proceedings chanting to herself, swiveling to watch the jury or turning around to beam at a group of supporters who’ve filled half the gallery on many trial days. Each time a witness is asked to identify her, a standard practice in federal criminal court, Daedone stands up from her seat at the defense table. Cherwitz does the same.
Content retrieved from: https://www.courthousenews.com/government-wraps-sex-cult-case-in-brooklyn/.
