Leaders of sex-focused women's wellness company that promoted "orgasmic meditation" convicted in forced labor trial

The leaders of a sex-focused women's wellness company that promoted "orgasmic meditation" were found guilty Monday in what has been described as an abusive scheme to coerce their employees into performing traumatic and demeaning tasks with little or no pay, authorities said. A Brooklyn jury deliberated for less than two days before convicting Nicole Daedone, 57, and Rachel Cherwitz, 44, on federal forced labor charges, following a five-week trial.

Daedone founded OneTaste Inc., the California-based wellness company, and Cherwitz formerly served as its sales director. The two each face up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced at a later time, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for New York's Eastern District.

Prosecutors had argued Daedone and Cherwitz ran a yearslong scheme that groomed adherents — many of them victims of sexual trauma — to do their bidding.