Jury awards former MIT scientist $6m in defamation case against colleague

A jury awarded molecular biologist David Sabatini $6 million in damages in his defamation case against fellow scientist Kristin Knouse, whose allegations of sexual misconduct had cost him senior positions at MIT and the Whitehead Institute. The trial centred on their relationship and whether it was consensual or involved coercion by Sabatini, who was Knouse’s senior colleague.

In a video deposition played during the trial, Knouse acknowledged that she had gone to Sabatini’s hotel room at about 2am and had sex with him. A text attributed to her described the encounter as “quite aggressive” and added “#hetoo”; she said she was joking and had been more forward. Their relationship began in 2018 and ended in January 2020, after Sabatini said he wanted to date another scientist. Knouse later countersued, alleging he abused his position of power.