A Suffolk County jury awarded former Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Whitehead Institute scientist David Sabatini $6 million in damages after finding that former colleague Kristin Knouse defamed him. The verdict, delivered Friday, also came with the rejection of Knouse’s counterclaims, including her allegation that Sabatini coerced her into a sexual relationship. Knouse’s attorneys said they planned to appeal.
Sabatini had led a research laboratory at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge for about 24 years. His research concerned cell biology and links to diseases and conditions including cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease. He lost his position at the institute in 2021 after an internal investigation into allegations by Knouse, a younger colleague. He later resigned. MIT was also conducting an investigation, according to the supplied account.
Court documents cited by Fox News Digital say Sabatini and Knouse met in 2012 and began a sexual relationship in 2018, which ended the next year. Knouse later alleged the relationship was coerced. Whitehead’s investigation also found that Sabatini had fostered a sexualized atmosphere in his laboratory, the report says. Sabatini disputed that account and maintained that the relationship was consensual.
After leaving Whitehead, Sabatini sued Knouse, alleging defamation and interference with contractual and prospective relations. Knouse filed a counterclaim alleging sexual harassment. At trial, Sabatini’s attorney, Lisa Arrowood, cited text messages that she argued supported his position that the relationship was voluntary. One message from 2020, as quoted in the source report, described Knouse feeling she was investing emotional energy in a situation she was likely to lose and considering limiting contact to work. The message also said she often felt at peace and wanted to help him.
Sabatini’s legal team also argued that Knouse had become jealous of another woman he was interested in and had tried to get him fired. The jury’s verdict favored Sabatini, but the source does not provide the jury’s reasoning beyond its findings and rejection of the counterclaims.
Speaking to Fox News Digital after the decision, Sabatini described the verdict as overwhelming and said he viewed the outcome as a complete victory. Knouse’s attorney, Ellen Zuker, told The New York Times that society still struggles to believe women and recognize the challenges they face in relationships with men who hold power over them. Zuker did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The dispute also affected Sabatini’s professional prospects. He discussed a possible faculty position at New York University after leaving the Massachusetts institutions, but NYU did not hire him following protests by students and faculty in 2022. Sabatini said protesters appeared outside his parents’ home. He also said relatives, including his parents, nephew and high-school-aged son, received threats after the allegations became public. These are Sabatini’s reported statements; the source does not provide independent verification of the threats.
In 2023, Sabatini joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague after receiving offers from abroad, the report says. He later opened a Boston branch and divides his time between Prague and the United States. He said returning to work primarily in the United States is a goal, and that being near his son before the son goes to college is his foremost personal priority.
The legal dispute is not necessarily over. Knouse’s lawyers said they intended to appeal the verdict, while Sabatini’s legal team was preparing to challenge the dismissal of his claims against the Whitehead Institute. Sabatini criticized institutions’ handling of due process in comments to Fox News Digital. The source says Fox News Digital also sought comment from MIT and the Whitehead Institute but does not report responses.
