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They noted that the New York resident had no prior criminal record and that more than 200 people had submitted letters to the court \u201cattesting to her character, her generosity, and her positive influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cShe has lived an uncommon and impactful life, and she is deeply respected by people from all walks of life, including many entirely unconnected to OneTaste,\u201d the defense lawyers wrote in their sentencing memo. \u201cShe is a prolific writer, teacher, and spiritual practitioner whose work has long focused on reducing suffering and fostering meaningful human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those who penned letters of support was Van Jones, a CNN correspondent and former adviser to President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n
The longtime criminal justice reform advocate described Daedone as \u201ca woman of uncommon wisdom, grace and moral courage\u201d who has \u201cdedicated her life to helping others find healing, empowerment and a deeper sense of human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Actor Richard Schiff, of the television series \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d wrote that Daedone was deserving of the court’s leniency because she has \u201cspent her life trying to bring compassion, awareness, and honesty to a part of human experience that is often shamed or misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Daedone’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment after the sentencing. Rachel Cherwitz, the company\u2019s former sales director, was set to be sentenced later Monday.<\/p>\n
During the roughly one-month trial, prosecutors said the two women ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents \u2014 many of them victims of sexual trauma \u2014 to do their bidding.<\/p>\n
They said Daedone and Cherwitz, of California, used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive, such as having sex with prospective investors or clients.<\/p>\n
The two told followers the questionable acts were necessary in order to obtain \u201cfreedom\u201d and \u201cenlightenment,\u201d and to demonstrate their commitment to the company\u2019s principles.<\/p>\n
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One of Daedone\u2019s lawyers, meanwhile, cast her as a \u201cceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur\u201d who created a unique business centered on women\u2019s sexuality and empowerment.<\/p>\n
Daedone co-founded OneTaste in San Francisco in 2004 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection.<\/p>\n
A centerpiece was \u201corgasmic meditation,\u201d or \u201cOM,\u201d which was carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting.<\/p>\n
The company enjoyed glowing media coverage in the 2010s as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritized women\u2019s sexual pleasure, and quickly opened outposts from Los Angeles to London.<\/p>\n
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Daedone sold her stake in the company in 2017 for $12 million \u2014 a year before OneTaste\u2019s marketing and labor practices came under scrutiny.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s current owners have since rebranded it as the Institute of OM Foundation. They maintain its work has been misconstrued and that the charges against its former executives were unjustified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FILE – Nicole Daedone, center, founder and former CEO of OneTaste, departs Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday, June…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[12674,98,100,99,2136,24537,9,24,72714,63,72712,833,834,38762,2376,3065,2336,38761,828,829,830,831,3300,72713,72715],"class_list":{"0":"post-180012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-barack-obama","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","11":"tag-brooklyn-news","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-john-marzulli","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nicole-daedone","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-onetaste-orgasmic-meditation-founder-daedone-sentenced","19":"tag-package-100024-ap-online","20":"tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","21":"tag-package-100923-member-choice-lifestyles-option","22":"tag-product-30031-ap-california-state-news-no-weather","23":"tag-product-30083-ap-new-york-city-news-no-weather","24":"tag-product-30085-ap-new-york-state-news-no-weather","25":"tag-product-30594-lifestyles-formerly-weekly-features","26":"tag-product-30597-ap-business-news-f-wire","27":"tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","28":"tag-product-31995-ap-online-general-financial-business-news","29":"tag-product-31998-ap-online-national-news","30":"tag-product-32538-ap-online-health-and-medical-news","31":"tag-rachel-cherwitz","32":"tag-richard-schiff"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}