CultNEWS101 Articles: 4/6/2026
Patrick Ryan
"The leader of a sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison for a scheme that a judge said exploited vulnerable women and coerced them into performing sex acts with the company’s clients and investors.
Nicole Daedone, co-founder of OneTaste Inc., was also ordered to forfeit $12 million, and seven victims were awarded roughly $890,000 in restitution, federal prosecutors said.
“Coercion disguised as wellness or empowerment is still exploitation and it is a crime that causes harm to vulnerable victims,” Joseph Nocella, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.
Daedone declined to speak in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday, but one victim told the judge that she had believed in Daedone’s “so-called feminist mission” only to be “left with significant financial damages and emotional harm,” the Daily News reports."
"What do gaslighting, bullying, cults, and coercion have in common? In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Fraser about the psychology and neuroscience of manipulation, the recurring structure of abuse cultures, and the way authority can distort perception.
The conversation examines fear, humiliation, retaliation, favoritism, empathy deficits, and the warning signs that distinguish legitimate leadership from coercive control across schools, workplaces, sports, relationships, and institutions."
"'Baba ji asked the woman to pull up her kurta up grabbed her breasts. He then started chanting some mantras.'
There is a thin line between faith and foolishness, often blurred by 'godmen' who exploit people and sexually abuse women under the pretext of helping them. There is no dearth of such babas in India, but the shocking details that emerged from Nashik godman Ashok Kharat’s case have once again spotlighted this disturbing reality. Kharat is accused of raping women, sexually assaulting a pregnant woman, and forcing her to abort. He also faces murder allegations, and complaints continue to surface as the investigation intensifies. In just five days, more than 50 calls were made to the police reporting sexual assault, extortion, and circulation of objectionable material. The bigger question, however, is why these people stayed silent for so long.
The answer lies in how these godmen operate. It shows how faith, when mixed with superstition, can give someone terrifying power - power that controls minds, hearts, and even a sense of self. People are manipulated in the name of God and salvation, without question. On this path, faith comes to mean "complete surrender" - no ifs or buts."
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