Judge blasts lack of remorse from ‘sex cult’ founder, sentences her to 9 years in prison

Brooklyn, New York — The founder and former CEO of orgasmic meditation group OneTaste, which has been denounced as a “sex cult” by some former employees, was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for a yearslong scheme that a federal judge said caused victims “long-lasting, if not irreparable” harm.

It’s less than half of the 20 years that Nicole Daedone, now 58, could have faced for her conviction on conspiracy to commit forced labor. Still, U.S. District Judge Dianne Gujarati acknowledged when handing down the sentence that Daedone committed a serious offense and was “the leader of a criminal enterprise.”

“Ms. Daedone exploited women in a calculated way and made money off that exploitation; she is not the victim here,” Gujarati said, digging at Daedone’s suggestion that sexism played a role in her federal indictment.

Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste’s former head of sales described in court as Daedone’s right hand and even her “enforcer,” received a 6 1/2-year sentence on Monday for her conviction on the same crime.

“Her role in the conspiracy was vital,” the judge said, harking back to evidence that painted the 45-year-old Cherwitz as a cruel and abusive manager.

At a five-month trial in 2025, federal prosecutors argued that Daedone and Cherwitz preyed on vulnerable women, dissatisfied with their sex lives, who sought solace in her signature wellness practice: orgasmic meditation, often abbreviated merely as OM, a 15-minute partnered practice that involves stroking a woman’s genitals.

But several former OneTaste members testified that they were forced to have sex with other members, including men who invested in the company, with threats of ostracization and loss of communal housing if they tried to leave or defy the group.

“This was exploitation masqueraded as empowerment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Fern told the judge on Monday.

Gujarati, a Donald Trump appointee in the Eastern District of New York, blasted both women’s lack of remorse for their actions, noting that — even after getting convicted — Daedone continued to downplay the sweeping accusations she faced from ex-OneTaste members.

“The defendant has demonstrated no acceptance of responsibility at all,” the judge said of Daedone before handing down her sentence.

Daedone, whose blonde hair is now graying at the root after 10 months in federal prison, sat stoic at the defense table throughout the four-hour hearing. She sported a tan prison jumper, customary for inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a far cry from the teal pantsuit she wore on the final day of her 2025 trial — Gujarati rejected the defendants’ ask to wear outside clothes for Monday’s proceedings.

Daedone ultimately declined to formally address the judge with a statement prior to her sentencing, but clasped her hands together in a respectful prayer pose after Gujarati read out the punishment: 108 months, plus two years of supervised release.

She was ordered to forfeit $12 million — the amount she sold OneTaste for in 2017 — and owes an additional $887,000 to seven different victims.

One of those victims, a woman named Michal, spoke to the court Monday. She said that her 10 months with OneTaste left her sexually traumatized, riddled with debt and more depressed than she’d ever been.

She added that the experience caused her to consider suicide more than once.

“I trusted Nicole,” Michal said. “In reality, I fell into Nicole’s trap. I was a perfect target because I was a vulnerable woman looking to improve my life.”

Daedone watched intently from the defense table. Her attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, rebuked the notion that she “targeted vulnerable people” as the government and witnesses claimed.

Instead, she insisted Daedone was a complex person who shouldn’t be painted with “one broad brush.”

“She’s not a one-dimensional character,” Bonjean said, pointing to the supposed scientific interest in orgasmic meditation and Daedone’s charitable endeavors, like a free food program in Harlem.

Speaking to reporters outside of the courthouse, Bonjean said they intend to appeal Daedone’s conviction. Rumors have swirled of a potential pardon by the Trump administration as well, amid reports that MAGA-affiliated lawyer Alan Dershowitz is lobbying for her clemency.

“I don’t want to comment on that,” Bonjean said when asked of a possible pardon. “I think it would be a good use of the pardon power, but that’s not my wheelhouse.”

OneTaste’s successor CEO Anjuli Ayer said that “this is a terrible day for freedom.”

“I’m here because 10 years ago I had chronic fatigue from mercury poisoning that almost killed me,” Ayer told reporters. “I couldn’t eat, was too weak to drive a car. I tried everything, conventional and unconventional medicine. Nicole and the practice of orgasmic meditation saved my life. I will not stop until I save hers.”