
Leaders of ‘orgasmic meditation' wellness company convicted in forced labor trial
The leaders of a sex-focused women's wellness company that promoted 'orgasmic meditation' have been convicted of federal forced labor charges.
A Brooklyn jury on Monday found Nicole Daedone, founder of OneTaste Inc., and Rachel Cherwitz, the California-based company's former sales director, guilty of forced labor conspiracy after deliberating for less than two days following a roughly monthlong trial.
Daedone's defense team had cast her as a 'ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur' who created a unique business around women's sexuality and empowerment.
But prosecutors argued the two women ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents — many of them victims of sexual trauma — to do their bidding.
They said Daedone and Cherwitz 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.
The two told followers the questionable acts were necessary in order to obtain 'freedom' and 'enlightenment' and demonstrate their commitment to the organization's principles.
Prosecutors said OneTaste leaders also didn't pay promised earnings to the members-turned-workers and even forced some of them to take out new credit cards to continue taking the company's courses.
Lawyers for the two women didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Monday.
OneTaste started in San Francisco around 2005 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection.
A centerpiece was 'orgasmic meditation,' carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting.
The company quickly opened outposts from Los Angeles to London following glowing media coverage in the 2010s. At the time, OneTaste was portrayed as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritized women's sexual pleasure.
But Daedone sold her stake in 2017 — a year before OneTaste's marketing and labor practices came under scrutiny.
The company's current owners, who have rebranded it the Institute of OM Foundation, have said its work has been misconstrued and the charges against its former executives were unjustified.
They maintain sexual consent has always been a cornerstone of the organization. The company didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
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BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jesus Cruz polished luxury cars at an LA car wash for a decade. Then ICE showed up
When immigration agents pulled up outside a Los Angeles car wash on a quiet Sunday afternoon, it sparked instant customers at the Westchester Hand Wash, which sits in the centre of a busy shopping area just blocks from the city's airport, froze as the officers in olive-green uniforms approached, CCTV footage obtained by the BBC employees who spotted them ducked behind a luxury SUV they were wiping down with a rag. Another worker halfway through cleaning the back window of a car looked all at once they scattered and ran, some jumping over a nearby fence as agents raced after them on foot and in US Customs and Border Protection pick-up came the following day to make more arrests. Jesus Cruz, who has worked at the car wash for more than a decade and lived in the US for more than 30 years, was among the six men who were arrested over the course of two raids. His wife, Noemi, told the BBC she was shopping with her daughter when she spotted a social media post about a possible raid. It included a photo of the car wash, so she dropped her daughter at home and raced the time she arrived, however, she was too late. She has not been able to reach her husband since. "You are so used to having a partner there, just to help you out, to be the backbone… now it's like - how am I going to do it?" she said."My husband has no criminal background. He's never gotten a ticket before. We pay our taxes. We're up to date on everything."The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to an inquiry about Mr Cruz's legal status or the goal of the operation at the car raid at the car wash, and similar ones across Los Angeles, represent a significant escalation in the White House's strategy to round up and deport undocumented migrants. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump repeatedly said he would prioritise deporting noncitizens accused of violent crimes. That promise received widespread support, even among Hispanic immigrant groups. But in recent weeks, the administration has stepped up its targets, pushing to increase their arrests from about 660 to 3,000 a day. To do that, they have widened their net, targeting not just criminals but workplaces where many undocumented workers do jobs that are vital for the economy - from farming to factory work - and pay taxes."Just go out there and arrest illegal aliens," Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, reportedly told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials before they launched the recent LA raids. According to the Wall Street Journal, he told them they did not need to produce target lists of suspected illegal immigrants, a longstanding practice, and should instead raid major businesses to arrest as many as possible. Car-wash owner Mehmet Aydogan said the agents did not ask for IDs before placing the men in handcuffs and swiftly driving them away."They were not doing anything criminal," he said, noting the raids were quick and lasted less than a minute. "Everyone is hard working."Days earlier, another operation at Ambiance Apparel, a clothing wholesale business in the Fashion District near downtown LA, had set the city on edge. More than a dozen people were arrested, witnesses said, although DHS did not respond to a BBC inquiry about this operation and the total number of tsar Tom Homan denied that agents were conducting an immigration raid at Ambiance. He said it was a criminal investigation that also uncovered undocumented immigrants."I said it from day one: if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table," he told the New York Times Lopez was one of several witnesses who started posting on Instagram about the operation, before a large group of protesters formed outside, trying to prevent the workers from being taken away. Officials eventually deployed flash bangs and tear gas to push past the crowd - one of the first protests in the LA area as the spate of immigration raids kicked off."It's sad that it's hardworking people," he said about those arrested. "And they're trying to make it seem like it's bad people."Protests first broke out on 6 June, with confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents in the streets, before spreading more widely and at times turning violent. Hundreds have been arrested and an overnight curfew in one area is being enforcement agencies have said the protests will not deter their operations. President Trump has deployed the national guard and US Marines to help ensure the immigration crackdown continues. These raids have hit Los Angeles County especially hard, where estimates suggest more than 900,000 people do not have legal status, about 10% of the population. Hispanics here outnumber any other ethnic background by a large margin - and many in the community who are citizens or legal residents have family who are undocumented."I can't emphasise enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now," the city's Mayor Karen Bass said at news conference. "Not knowing if it's tomorrow or tonight. It might be where they live. It might be their workplace. Should you send your kids to school? Should you go to work?"Social media has been used to inform communities about sightings of immigration authorities, but also to spread misinformation. The unease caused one local minority non-profit to urge undocumented people to just stay out of sight. It offered volunteers to run errands or go grocery shopping for families so they can remain say it's a mystery when and where immigration officers will show up next. Immigration agencies do not typically announce where raids have happened, nor do they announce all arrests or where detainees are being held or jailed - adding to the anxiety. But what exactly comes next as raids continue is still nationwide in recent days have netted hundreds of arrests, including recent operations in agricultural sectors and a meat-packing plant in Nebraska. In response, protests have spurred in all corners of the country - including in major US cities like New York, Dallas, Washington and Boston."California may be first - but it clearly won't end here," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in an evening address on Tuesday. "Other states are next."Immigration attorney Karla Navarrete, who is representing multiple people who have been arrested in the immigration sweeps, said the mass arrests have overwhelmed the system. Databases aren't being updated with arrests, families and lawyers cannot find those who have been detained and when they do the person sometimes is in a different state or has already been deported to another Cruz, whose husband was arrested at the car wash, said she learned late on Tuesday that he was no longer in Los Angeles, or even the state of California. She learned through her lawyer that he is being held at a detention centre in El Paso, Texas, more than 800 miles (1,300km) from their youngest child - a five-year-old boy - is having the hardest time with the change, she said."He just keeps asking for his dad. I don't know what to tell him," she added, through tears. "He doesn't understand what is going on. He still thinks his dad is at work."


Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Homeland Security turns on Kim Kardashian after reality star is mocked over ICE criticism
The Department of Homeland Security joined the growing number of voices hitting out at Kim Kardashian for her criticism of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Los Angeles. The 44-year-old reality television star took to Instagram on Tuesday night to advocate for the immigrants being torn apart from their families in President Donald Trump 's ongoing crackdown on those in the country illegally. 'When we're told that ICE exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals - great,' the mother-of-four wrote as riots in the city continued. 'But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up. We have to do what's right.' Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin slammed the reality star for her comment as she doubled down on the Trump administration's assertions that the ICE operations in Los Angeles are targeting convicted criminals. '@KimKardashian, which one of these convicted child molesters, murderers, drug traffickers and rapists would you like to stay in the country,' McLaughlin posted on X, sharing photos of four individuals she said ICE arrested in recent days from the City of Angels. 'These are just a few of the convicted illegal criminals who have been picked up in the last 72 hours.' Others accused the billionaire - who is good friends with Ivanka Trump - of virtue signaling. 'Eh not buying it,' one Reddit user said. 'She needs to call out her friend Trump by name directly if she wants people think she's being genuine. 'These deportations have been going on for years since the first Trump admin and she only decides to speak up when it's convenient, when people will question her silence if she doesn't.' 'Why doesn't she just call up her bestie Ivanka?!' another asked. 'C'mon Kim - get your a** up and WORK.' A third blasted: 'This is for public perception only. She has a direct line to the Trump/Kushner clan. Wtf is she telling us for? Call up your bestie, Kimberly.' 'She's got Ivanka on speed dial,' a fourth agreed. 'She could easily go that route, if need be.' 'Every time I see Kim K virtue signal I die a little inside,' added another. 'You say "damned if you do" as if she's "doing" anything,' said a sixth. 'She has a direct line to the Trumps and could call that f**ker out by name if she really cared. But she doesn't. Her words are meaningless.' A seventh pointed out: 'She has actual ability to do a whole lot more.' McLaughlin doubled down on the Trump administration's assertions that the ICE operations in Los Angeles are targeting convicted criminals. Kim has never spoken publicly about who she endorsed in the 2024 Presidential election, in which Donald Trump triumphed over Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. However, she has a close friendship with Trump's daughter Ivanka. Kim and Ivanka's friendship traces back several years, and it only strengthened after the pair began working on prison reforms together. The duo first crossed paths in 2014 at the Met Gala, where it was said that they bonded over motherhood. A source told Us Weekly in 2023, 'Kim and Ivanka have been friends for years and have hung out on a number of occasions. 'They initially bonded nearly a decade ago at the Met Gala over motherhood and being new moms. But they continued to connect numerous times over the years.' Since their initial meeting a decade ago, the women have been spotted together on numerous occasions. In 2018, the pair was seen posing side by side at the White House, where Kim was petitioning Ivanka's father, then-President Trump, to commute the life sentence of drug offender Alice Marie Johnson. The duo worked closely together to reduce and clear prison sentences - with Kim often confiding in Ivanka while attending dinner parties at her house. And by 2020, the reality star was gushing about Ivanka's dad online. 'President Trump commuted the sentences of three really deserving women. I didn't hear much about it in the news, so I wanted to share with you their stories,' she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 'I have the pleasure of spending the day with these women today along with Alice Marie Johnson, who helped to pick these women.' Meanwhile, the White House has said its deportation efforts in Los Angeles are continuing - despite Kardashian's comments and photos and videos showing protesters wearing face masks confronting police in riot gear. 'The Trump Administration will fulfill the President's promise to deport illegal aliens and no one – not even violent left-wing rioters – will get in the way of our mission,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail on Wednesday. 'ICE is arresting illegal aliens and will continue to do so all around the country no matter what radical liberals do, the safety of the American people depends on it,' she said in a statement. 'Radical liberal rioters, enabled by weak politicians like Gavin Newsom, are using violence to try and stop the American people's agenda from being implemented. It won't work,' Jackson told the Daily Mail. 'In November, the American people gave President Trump a mandate: deportations.'


Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Michelin-star chef accused of battering woman calls victim from jail with 'inconsiderate' request
An acclaimed chef at a Michelin-star restaurant beat a woman so badly she needed emergency surgery to treat a brain bleed - then called the same woman from jail begging her to bail him out. Jacob Bickelhaupt, 41, was hit with new charges of witness tampering less than a week after he was arrested on charges of aggravated battery for assaulting the victim for two hours inside her home. The Michelin-star chef and owner of West Palm Beach restaurant Konro allegedly left the woman with a 'smashed up face' and horrifying injuries which required lifesaving surgery. The woman had escaped to the airport when she suffered a seizure trying to buy a plane ticket. She was rushed to hospital, where she told medics she had been involved in a car accident. Nurses called police because her injuries were not consistent with a car accident. 'I have nowhere to stay, nowhere to sleep... I need your help,' Bickelhaupt said in a voicemail left to the woman's phone. Using an unauthorized device, Bickelhaupt called a number for his business which diverted to the woman's personal cell, along with his own and a business partner's. It is understood the business partner alerted authorities to the voicemail, CBS 12 reported. 'Here is the deal, I know there is a lot going on, and you're in really bad shape. I'm going to be here for a very long time if you so choose, maybe a year,' he said in the desperate call. 'I'm not trying to sound inconsiderate right now, I really don't have a lot of time. I love you, please call that number,' he said in a second call just 20 minutes after the first went to voicemail. Bickelhaupt asked the woman to phone the bondsman and pay $1,500 upfront, agreeing to cover the remainder of the $9,000 bail amount via a payment plan. His total bond was initially listed for $90,000 with a 10 percent payment required upfront to walk free. 'I get out I have house arrest with ankle bracelet and no order to contact. So I need to find somewhere else to sleep, and I can't do the restaurant,' he said. 'I don't have any money, they took all my ID's and I don't have any shoes, it's in evidence. 'Zelle and cash app 1,500 and the bail bondsmen will pay the 9K and we'll clear out the rest.' After authorities learned of the two calls, Bickelhaupt was hit with three fresh charges - two counts of witness tampering and one contempt charge. Bickelhaupt is the chef behind Michelin-star restaurant Konro Each new charge carried a $3,000 bond, taking his total bond amount to $99,000. Bickelhaupt will return to court to face both sets of charges. The initial complaint related to a June 2 assault on a woman who required emergency surgery to stem a brain bleed caused by her injuries. She also had two black eyes, facial swelling and bruising from her shoulders down to wrists. Police allege she was the victim of a sustained two-hour assault. At her home, police found blood splatter on the bedding, walls, and furniture. Newly released bodycam footage of Bickelhaupt's arrest shows the chef sitting on his front porch as officers approach. 'I'm assuming she wasn't in a car accident because there was no damage to her car,' the officer told Bickelhaupt in the clip as he's discussing the woman's injuries. 'She had to go through surgery to save her life. Her face is all smashed up. 'One of two things is happening. Either she's covering for the person who beat her, or the brain bleed is affecting her thought process.' Bickelhaupt simply said: 'I don't know.' The officer asked to see Bickelhaupt's fists and the top of his hands before later informing him that he was the prime suspect and placing him in handcuffs. Bickelhaupt's last restaurant, the famed Chicago-based 42 Grams, was awarded two Michelin stars before it was suddenly closed under a cloud of controversy in 2018, after Bickelhaupt had been accused of seperate and unrelated domestic violence offences.