Former MIT scientist wins $6M defamation verdict against colleague who accused him of sexual misconduct
A former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientist won a legal victory this week after losing his position following sexual misconduct allegations made by a female colleague.
Dr. David Sabatini, a former MIT biology professor and prominent biomedical researcher, was awarded $6 million in damages Friday after a jury found that his former colleague, Dr. Kristin Knouse, had defamed him.
At the time of the allegations, Sabatini had led a research lab at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for approximately 24 years. His work focused on cell biology and its connections to neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, aging and cancer.
In 2021, Sabatini lost his position at Whitehead following an internal investigation into allegations made by Dr. Kristin Knouse, a younger colleague who worked at the institute.
The pair met in 2012 and began a sexual relationship in 2018, which ended the following year, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Knouse later alleged the relationship was coerced.
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According to records from the investigation, Whitehead also found that Sabatini had fostered a sexualized atmosphere in his lab. He subsequently resigned from the institute.
Following his departure from Whitehead — and amid an ongoing investigation at MIT — Sabatini filed a defamation lawsuit against Knouse, "alleging claims for defamation, tortious interference with contractual, prospective, and advantageous relations," according to court documents.
Knouse subsequently filed a counterclaim against Sabatini, alleging sexual harassment.
Throughout the legal battle, Sabatini maintained that he had never fostered an improper atmosphere in his lab and that his relationship with Knouse was consensual.
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During the trial, his attorney, Lisa Arrowood, cited text messages between the pair that she argued showed Knouse willingly participated in their relationship.
In one 2020 exchange, Knouse lamented that she was "pouring a lot of energy and emotion into a game I'm destined to lose" and wondered "if it's best for both of us to cut all but work-related ties for the foreseeable future."
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She concluded the message by writing, "But most times I feel at peace and want to do everything and anything I can to help you."
Sabatini and his legal team argued in court that the relationship was consensual. They also presented evidence they said showed that Knouse had become jealous of another woman in whom Sabatini was interested and had sought to have him fired.
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A day after a Suffolk County jury awarded him $6 million in damages, Sabatini told Fox News Digital that hearing the verdict was "overwhelming."
"It was done," Sabatini said. "We had won everything, lost nothing. It was like a complete sweep."
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Five years after filing his lawsuit, Sabatini emerged from the trial with a favorable verdict after the jury rejected Knouse's counterclaims, including her allegation that he had coerced her into a sexual relationship.
"The sad reality of our time is that society still has a difficult time believing women and appreciating the difficulty they encounter with men who too often control their fate," Knouse’s attorney, Ellen Zuker, said in a statement to the New York Times.
Knouse’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Despite the legal victory, Sabatini is now attempting to pick up the pieces of his career. The allegations seeped into every aspect of his life, and many of his loved ones — including his parents, nephew and high school-aged son — began receiving threats shortly after Knouse’s claims were made public.
"Everyone who came out and tried to defend me got attacked every which way," Sabatini told Fox News Digital.
Shortly after his departure from MIT and Whitehead, Sabatini discussed a potential faculty position at New York University (NYU). But after students and faculty members protested his possible hiring in 2022, the university ultimately did not offer him a job.
Sabatini said protesters also appeared outside his parents' home, drawing his family further into the controversy.
One year later, in 2023, Sabatini landed a job at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague after receiving several offers from foreign countries — including China. He later opened a Boston branch of the institute, and he splits his time between Prague and the United States.
"It was a necessity," Sabatini said. "There were no options [in the United States]. So there was no choice."
Following Friday's verdict, Knouse's attorneys said they planned to appeal, while Sabatini's legal team also prepared to challenge the dismissal of his claims against the Whitehead Institute.
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"I think institutions don't care about due process," Sabatini said. "They care about having a certain conclusion. And for whatever reason that one could discuss, at that time the conclusion was, ‘Get this guy out of here and make an example of him.’"
Sabatini said he hopes to rebuild his life and career following the verdict and eventually return to working primarily in the United States.
"But ultimately for me, it’s just being able to be close to my son before he goes to college," Sabatini told Fox News Digital. "That’s really number one through 100."
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Whitehead Institute and MIT for comment.