Former MIT scientist awarded $6 MILLION in damages over false sexual misconduct claim during Me Too era

Former professor David Sabatini was accused of sexual conduct by fellow scientist Kristin Knouse for allegedly fostering a sexualized workplace environment in his laboratory at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sabatini maintained that the two began a consensual relationship in 2018 that ended after he decided to pursue another woman. Knouse argued that the relationship was coercive because Sabatini held a position of power over her.

In 2021, an internal investigation found that Sabatini’s relationship with Knouse violated the institute’s workplace relationship policy. Sabatini was removed from his laboratory and later sued the institute and Knouse. Knouse countersued Sabatini, alleging that he had abused his position of authority. The institute was later dropped from the litigation, leaving Sabatini and Knouse as the remaining parties.

On Friday, a Suffolk County jury comprising seven women and six men returned its verdict, ordering Knouse to pay Sabatini $6 million, plus interest. The jury found that she had defamed him and interfered with his career.

Knouse was considered to be a rising star in his field for his discovery of a protein regulating cell growth, which prompted speculation of a Nobel Prize.

According to a report by the Boston Globe, Sabatini’s attorney, Lisa Arrowood, said a member of the laboratory who testified on her behalf became visibly angry following the verdict and physically “body checked” a member of Sabatini’s legal team.

“I’ve been doing this for 44 years and I’ve never seen anyone react like this,” Arrowood told the outlet. “It was incredible.”

Knouse’s attorney, Ellen Zucker, denied the allegation.

“That is completely ludicrous,” Zucker said. “Dr. Knouse was fortunate to have friends and colleagues in the courtroom supporting her …They were standing with her and none of them body-checked anybody.”

Zucker also claimed that the verdict is indicative of a culture that doesn't believe women.

“We as a country have often excused conduct that objectifies, harms women,” Zucker said. “It does seem to be a symptom of a time where calling individuals to account for their violation of the rules and their failure in basic human decency, it’s still tough to do that.”

Prominent Sabatini supporter and philanthropist Bill Ackman celebrated the verdict while continuing to call for the termination of Ruth Lehmann, the director of the Whitehead Institute, whom he accused of conspiring with Knouse to wage a “sham investigation” that would destroy Sabatini’s career and reputation.

“Dr. Lehmann nearly killed David with her actions, as had we not rescued David by finding him employment, supporting him publicly to buffer the reputational damage, and supporting his recovery, he could have ended his life and left his son without a father before the world understood what had transpired here,” Ackman wrote in a post on X.