Michaela Rylaarsdam, the OnlyFans BDSM creator whose paid fetish session with 55-year-old Escondido man Michael Dale ended in his death, has been sentenced to four years in prison. According to Courthouse News, the 32-year-old was sentenced Monday, June 8, in San Diego Superior Court after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with Dale’s 2023 suffocation death.
According to NBC San Diego, Rylaarsdam originally faced a second-degree murder charge before reaching a plea deal that called for the four-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said videos recorded during the encounter showed Dale with his wrists bound, a plastic bag over his head and duct tape over his mouth for several minutes.
The fatal encounter reportedly began after Dale paid Rylaarsdam more than $11,000 for fetish acts that were intended to be filmed and posted to her OnlyFans account, according to Courthouse News. Prosecutors said Rylaarsdam traveled from San Bernardino County to Dale’s Escondido home on April 17, 2023, where the bondage session ultimately turned deadly.
During sentencing, Rylaarsdam apologized in court, saying, “‘I’m sorry’ is not enough.” Her attorney, Daniel Cohen, argued the death was not intentional, saying, “This was clearly an accident.” However, Judge Brad Weinreb said the actions were so reckless that “death was almost certain.” Deputy District Attorney David Jarman said her conduct showed “a conscious disregard for human life.”
The case has also revived conversations about the hidden dangers of BDSM, especially breath play, suffocation, choking, and restraint-based activity. BDSM itself is not inherently criminal, and many consenting adults practice it with communication, boundaries, and safety planning. However, forensic research shows the most dangerous cases often involve oxygen restriction, restraints, alcohol, drugs, or a lack of emergency awareness.
A 2021 review published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine examined 17 reported BDSM-related fatality cases and found strangulation was the most common cause of death, appearing in 88.2% of the cases reviewed. The authors also noted that fatal BDSM outcomes are rarer than autoerotic fatalities, but the risk increases when safeguards are ignored.
Other cases have raised similar concerns. In Australia, ABC News reported that sex worker Madeleine Lewin was found guilty of manslaughter after Brisbane businessman Anthony Brady died of mechanical asphyxiation during a BDSM activity in a Cairns hotel room.
The Grace Millane murder case in New Zealand also became part of the global debate around the so-called “rough sex” defense after her killer claimed her death happened during consensual activity. The case helped intensify legal and public scrutiny over whether claims of consent are being used to excuse fatal violence
Health researchers continue to warn that sexual strangulation, often casually called “choking,” can restrict breathing, reduce blood flow to the brain, cause loss of consciousness, brain injury, stroke-like symptoms, or death. A University of Melbourne report stated that strangulation during sex carries risks ranging from bruising and vomiting to brain injury and death.
Rylaarsdam’s sentence closes one criminal case, but the warning remains: consent does not erase physical danger. When breath, restraints, filming pressure, or impaired judgment are involved, a fantasy can turn fatal within minutes.
