The wellness start-up appeared to be a manifestation of San Francisco’s social culture and billed itself as having a subversive dedication to female sexual liberation.
The company, OneTaste, offered a communal lifestyle, teaching classes in so-called orgasmic meditation to help achieve female empowerment. But federal prosecutors said it was masking something darker.
Its leaders recruited vulnerable people, survivors of sexual trauma, to work or participate in the company’s activities, according to prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. In controlling the lives of their employees, OneTaste’s leaders pushed them into debt, withheld pay and sexually coerced them, they said.
Nicole Daedone, OneTaste’s co-founder and former chief executive officer, and Rachel Cherwitz, its former head of sales, were each charged with one count of forced labor conspiracy in June 2023. They have pleaded not guilty and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys began choosing a jury Monday, and opening statements could take place as early as Tuesday. The trial is expected to take as long as six weeks.
In court filings, lawyers for Ms. Daedone and Ms. Cherwitz have said the women have, in effect, been framed. In an interview with The New York Times, Ms. Daedone said the accusations against her were “a narrative shaped by the media and adopted by the government.”
