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A Brooklyn court has sentenced Nicole Daedone, the 57-year-old founder of the wellness enterprise OneTaste, to nine years in prison. The ruling follows her conviction on forced labor conspiracy charges.
Her co-defendant, Rachel Cherwitz, who served as the organization's former head of sales, received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Federal prosecutors revealed that the organization, which promoted a trademarked practice known as orgasmic meditation, or "OMing," operated under a dark system of abuse.
The practice, which involves targeted clitoral stimulation, was marketed as a path toward spiritual connection, emotional wellness, and mental clarity. At its height, the group attracted 300,000 members globally and set up outposts in cities like San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and London.
Behind the facade of alternative therapy and personal growth, authorities discovered a climate of severe exploitation. Prosecutors stated that Daedone and Cherwitz "used psychological, emotional, and financial coercion to control their victims and extract labor and services for their own benefit."
According to the federal investigation, OneTaste intentionally targeted vulnerable individuals, particularly women who had previously experienced trauma. Once drawn into the community, these individuals were systematically isolated from their support networks. Adherents frequently lived together in communal housing entirely dedicated to Daedone’s teachings.
The government presented evidence showing that leaders stripped victims of their independence and assigned them grueling schedules. Victims were forced into performing unpaid services, including cooking, cleaning, and gardening. Furthermore, prosecutors proved that the defendants compelled these individuals to provide sexual favors for external investors to benefit the enterprise.
Prosecutor Sean Fern stated that the women had come to the community seeking personal growth but "left as shells of their former selves," per Courthouse News Service. Fern noted that the ultimate goals of the defendants were "power, prestige and money."
During the trial, the first witness for the government, a former member named Becky, shared details of her experience. She testified that she lost her sense of reality, accumulated massive financial debt, and endured verbal abuse alongside unwanted sexual touching. In her testimony, Becky stated, "OneTaste, to me, is a cult."
US attorney Joseph Nocella validated these accounts after the sentencing took place. "Coercion disguised as wellness or empowerment is still exploitation and it is a crime that causes harm to vulnerable victims," Nocella stated.
He emphasized that combining forced labor with sexual exploitation inflicted lasting trauma on the victims in ways that went far beyond unpaid labor or long hours.
Defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean countered the prosecution's narrative, labeling Daedone a "ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur," according to NBC News.
Bonjean argued that the government was misapplying forced labor laws and warned that the conviction came "painfully close to criminalizing thoughts and beliefs." The defense team intends to appeal the decision.
The case has renewed public discussion regarding how modern wellness organizations can transform into dangerous groups. Steven Hassan, a former member of the Unification church and an expert on alternative movements, stated that OneTaste fit the definition of a cult.
Hassan told The Guardian that the organization "relied on authoritarian control and had narcissistic leaders who think they are above the law and control the behavior, information and thoughts of their followers."
Hassan also warned that modern technology allows groups to manipulate followers without requiring physical confinement. He explained that people are constantly being indoctrinated online through their phones, using modern tools to foster distrust and enforce a restrictive culture.
Conversely, the current leadership of OneTaste maintains that the prosecution is an attack on personal freedom. Per The New York Times, current CEO Anjuli Ayer told reporters outside the courthouse that the verdict was "a terrifying day for freedom," arguing that the case suggests ideas themselves are dangerous. Despite these objections from supporters, the court determined that the line between voluntary practice and criminal exploitation had been crossed.
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An OnlyFans model has been sentenced to four years in prison after a fetish session with a client ended in tragedy.
Michaela Rylaarsdam, a California mother of three, pleaded guilty on May 6 to involuntary manslaughter after originally being charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 55-year-old Michael Dale. A spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office told People that she received a four-year prison sentence.
The case stems from an April 2023 encounter in which Dale allegedly agreed to pay $11,000 for a fetish session with Rylaarsdam, who advertised her services on Secret Hostess under the name "Ashley SinCal."
According to reports cited by prosecutors, Dale arranged the meeting at his Escondido home and requested a series of fetish acts.
He allegedly asked Rylaarsdam to wrap him in Saran Wrap "like a mummy," pour Gorilla Glue into his eyes to seal them closed and glue woman's boots to his feet as part of the encounter.
Prosecutors said videos recorded during the session showed Dale with his wrists bound and a plastic bag over his head. Authorities also alleged his body was fully encased in plastic wrap and duct tape had been placed over his mouth.
When Dale lost consciousness, Rylaarsdam called 911. He was taken to hospital but died the following day.
According to People, the medical examiner determined Dale died from asphyxiation after concluding the bag had been placed on his head for at least eight minutes.
The death was later ruled a homicide.
During a preliminary hearing, Escondido Police Detective Chris Zack testified that although Dale had made requests related to the session, he never asked for a plastic bag to be placed over his head.
During the hearing, Dale's roommate testified that he overheard Dale asking Rylaarsdam to stop. The roommate also claimed Dale offered her more money to end the session.
Rylaarsdam's attorney, Dan Cohen, previously disputed any suggestion that his client intended to kill Dale.
"I think there was no intent to kill and no attempt to cover this up," he said, per the outlet. "And she acted appropriately when she realized this was a problem."
He also said there was "definitely a consensual element" to the case.
Keith Raniere is said to be a charismatic yet dangerous man. He gained experience at Amway - a multilevel marketing company with links to US education secretary Betsy DeVos - before founding Nxivm. Ostensibly, this too was a multilevel marketing company. However, it has since been revealed as an oppressive, demoralising and violent cult.
Nxivm (pronounced nexium) was based in Albany, New York, and described itself as a "community guided by humanitarian principles that seek to empower people". It claimed to have 16,000 members across the US, Canada, Mexico and Central America. According to prosecutors, Raniere compared himself to Gandhi and Einstein, describing himself as the "smartest, most ethical person in the world".
However, in a setup somewhere between a pyramid scheme and a sex cult, the organisation housed a secret society called "DOS" or “the Vow". The purpose of this society was reportedly to recruit women to have sex with Raniere, otherwise known as Vanguard. The DOS “first line slaves" included Smallville actor Allison Mack, who is currently facing legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, 58-year-old Raniere is facing charges including sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and conspiracy to commit forced labour. With his trial underway, some truly disturbing details have come to light.
Female DOS members are said to have been branded with a cauterising pen on their hips. The women stood naked during a process which was filmed by other members. The mark, they were told, represented the four elements, the process itself constituting the element of fire. FBI documents show that the mark is, in fact, a symbol formed of Raniere’s initials.
Mark Agnifilo, one of Raniere’s lawyers, warned jurors that they may be shown a video of this ceremony. According to the New York Times, he stated: “See if the women seemed forced or if they are doing it because they want to do it.”
Women close to Raniere and Nxivm are known to have died or disappeared. When Raniere was 24, he was romantically involved with 16-year-old Gina Hutchinson, who subsequently committed suicide in 2002. One year later, student Kristin Marie Snyder disappeared, having last been seen walking out of a Nxivm building in Alaska.
Police recovered a note which stated: "I attended a course called Executive Success Programs . . . based out of Anchorage, AK, and Albany, NY. I was brainwashed and my emotional center of the brain was killed/turned off. I still have feeling in my external skin . . . but my internal organs are rotting. . . . I am sorry life, I didn’t know I was already dead. May we persist into the future.” Snyder's parents reported that she was delusional and they believed she held herself responsible for the Columbia shuttle disaster.
This appears to typify the organisation's approach to members’ wellbeing. Raniere orchestrated a punishing “slave and master” system and was about to engage in a “Recommitment Ceremony”, expected to contain group oral sex, when he was arrested at his home in Mexico.
In an especially upsetting testimony, a victim identified as Daniela explained that she was “groomed” for weeks before she turned 18 for Mr Raniere to take her virginity. Her family had fallen prey to Nxivm when she was just 16.
"I had never been kissed and I didn't have any prior sexual contact," Daniela said in court, according to the Daily Beast. "I didn't see Keith that way but I could see in subtle ways that he was flirting with me. Now, I believe he was grooming me."
After meeting Raniere during his Vanguard Week celebrations - where members would pay $2,000 each to celebrate him - she said their relationship "escalated in a sexual way". However, she was made to lose weight before she turned 18. "He said he could not share his sexual energy with somebody overweight," Daniela explained.
When she did turn 18, they had sex in the storage room of an office building. She was then expected to perform oral sex on him, often multiple times per day. "We cried the whole time," Daniela said in court, speaking of the other victims.
Lauren Salzman, 42, testified that the same young woman identified as Daniela was confined to a bedroom for two years because she gained weight and asked to see a man other than Raniere. While this seems an extreme measure, Raniere was said to have a preference for "exceptionally thin" women.
One of Daniela's sisters is the victim in an allegation of child pornography against Raniere while another had a child with him. Both were allegedly forced to have group sex with Raniere on multiple occasions.
In an interview which was conducted this year, Raniere's former partner shared stories about his childhood which she states she was told by his father. According to Barbara Bouchey, his father James had said: "What we did is we told Keith about how gifted and how intelligent he was. And he said it was almost like a switch went off. And suddenly overnight he turned into like Jesus Christ. And that he was superior and better than everybody like he was a deity. He said it was that dramatic and that profound he said it went right to his head."
Raniere was indeed a gifted child and his intelligence even earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. He was a keen computer programmer, a former colleague describing his fascination with Scientology and neuro-linguistic programming.
Tempting though it may be to jump to conclusions, the trial is ongoing. Fittingly, perhaps, Raniere’s adoption of the name “Vanguard” was inspired by one of his favourite video games which centred on the destruction of one's enemies to increase one's own power.
Sex workers often find themselves in unique positions of trust, acting as accidental confidants for their clients.
For Jade Blair, a sex worker and adult content creator on OnlyFans, this dynamic has led to some deeply unsettling conversations. Through her social media presence, Blair frequently shares insights into her profession, but a recent video highlighted a much darker side of the intimacy people buy.
Blair took to TikTok to open up about the most disturbing admissions she has received during her work. She noted that the combination of a financial transaction and physical vulnerability creates an environment where men feel unusually comfortable sharing their darkest secrets.
The nature of her job means clients expect a judgment-free zone, which sometimes opens the floodgates for unexpected honesty.
In her video, Blair analyzed why these men choose to share such heavy secrets with her. She explained that men tend to feel "safe" when they're "paying for an experience" as they know she will not be rude to them.
She also noted that when they've been intimate, clients often feel like they can open up in other ways, including mentally and emotionally.
In any case, this unique psychological comfort level has led to disturbing admissions, as Blair revealed, "I've had a lot of men confess murder."
The majority of these chilling admissions came from individuals with ties to the armed forces. Blair recounted that these clients "typically were army or ex-army people who were overseas in a developing country that was quite corrupt."
Due to the corrupt nature of these countries, there were essentially "no repercussions" for their actions.
These men detailed instances where taking a life was entirely outside the scope of their official responsibilities, often describing situations that fell into "a very gray area" where they should not have acted. Blair explained that superiors often chose to ignore the behavior.
Clients told her stories about how "their sergeant or their captain found out" and "turned a blind eye" to avoid dealing with the "paperwork."
Blair said that some ex-military clients transitioned into private security roles for wealthy families abroad, where they would kill people who were attempting to steal without facing any local legal ramifications.
Military personnel were not the only clients sharing dark secrets in these private spaces. Blair also recalled encounters with individuals working in the healthcare sector.
She heard accounts from people who were doctors or nurses who admitted to taking matters into their own hands regarding end-of-life care.
These medical professionals would deliberately give their patients an excessive amount of pain medication to end their suffering or at least hasten their death.
While Blair acknowledged that in the medical cases, "their heart was in the right place," the ethical ramifications remain deeply disturbing.
Ultimately, Blair clarified that she does not have enough specific details, such as names or exact locations, "where this information would be at all helpful to the police."
Because these killings took place decades ago in corrupt regions, legal action is highly unlikely, leaving Blair with the alarming realization that murderers are walking among us.
Cara Delevingne has "donated her orgasm" to help researchers find answers surrounding the female orgasm.
The bizarre moment came as part of a BBC investigation to explore the mystery around the "gender climax gap" - which is a term that studies the disparity in sexual satisfaction between men and women.
Delevingne assisted in the study as part of her forthcoming documentary series Planet Sex.
Watch the trailer for Planet Sex With Cara Delevingne below:During the show, the 30-year-old supermodel visits a hospital in Germany and donates a sample of her blood before and after climaxing in order to find out what an orgasm does to a person's body chemistry
This is measured through the level of endocannabinoids in Delevingne's system - a chemical that has been displayed to encourage relaxation and reduce anxiety.
During the show, the Suicide Squad actress says: "I think female sexual desire has definitely been repressed. I know from my own love life just how sexual women can be so you’d think in the 21st century men and women should be having equally satisfying sex lives, right?"
"Well, prepare for a shock. When it comes to the orgasm there is a definite gender gap," she continued. "Scientists say that 95% of straight men orgasm during intercourse but only 65% of straight women do."
The fashion muse - who identifies as pansexual - added: "To be honest I think that sounds way too high, most of my straight female friends say it’s probably more like 15 or 20%. Lesbians and queer women definitely seem to have it better."
The orgasmic task is not the only mission Delevingne undertook in her investigation to get to the bottom of sexuality.
In the synopsis of the six-part series, it is revealed that Delevingne also traveled to Holland to meet a sex expert, traveled to Japan where she made a mold of her vagina, and also visited a film set where "ethical" pornography was made.
According to Daily Mail, this comes after Delevingne realized that she was a prude when she was invited to take part in a masturbation seminar.
Speaking at Mipcom in Cannes last month, the Paper Towns star explained: "I went into the masturbation seminar thinking it was going to be a classroom and I'd have a notepad, and instead it was a pink, leather gym mat on the floor, with six people going, 'Well, take your underwear off. This is the lube.'"
"I didn’t realize I was a prude. I think I'm a pretty hip, young, cool, down-with-anything kind of girl but I was like, 'Sorry what? Sorry, no, absolutely not, I will not do that.' But I kind of did everything I felt comfortable doing," she added.
Planet Sex With Cara Delevingne will premiere on BBC 3 at 10:00AM this Thursday (December 1).
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