A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientist climbed into a colleague's bed and 'aggressively' demanded sex with him before making a #MeToo allegation that nearly ruined him.
asserted
that → climb → him
Dr Kristin Knouse, 38, alleged that world-renowned molecular biologist Dr David Sabatini coerced her into having an inappropriate and abusive affair with him that lasted over a year, a jury heard.
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jury → allege → year
He argued their sexual relationship was consensual.
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relationship → argue → ?
But in a 2024 video deposition with his attorney, Knouse was questioned about an incident where she allegedly got hot and heavy with Sabatini in a hotel room then made a joke about the #MeToo movement.
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she → question → movement
'His reference to being attacked at 2am is that instance where you went into his room when he was already in bed and had sex with him,' Sabatini's attorney Lisa G Arrowood said in the video deposition which was broadcast by Boston 25 on Tuesday.
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which → attack → Tuesday
'When you came back from partying, right?'
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you → come → partying
Knouse answered, 'I assume that's what he's referring to.'
Arrowood then read aloud a text message Knouse allegedly sent to Sabatini, which said: 'It was quite aggressive, #hetoo.'
Sabatini, 58, was removed from his prestigious positions at the Whitehead Institute and MIT in 2021 over Knouse's allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment.
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Sabatini → answer → misconduct
He was blocked from taking a job at New York University by a mob of angry woke students.
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He → block → students
He subsequently sued Knouse for defamation, with his lawyers arguing during the three-week trial that she had grown jealous of another woman and sought to punish him, the court heard.
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court → sue → him
Sabatini won his lawsuit against Knouse earlier this month and she has been ordered to pay him $6 million in damages.
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she → win → damages
Dr Kristin Knouse admitted during a video deposition that she climbed into Dr David Sabatini's hotel room bed at 2am and had sex with him.
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she → admit → him
In a text message discussing the encounter, she wrote: 'It was quite aggressive, #hetoo'
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It → discuss → encounter
Sabatini and Knouse, pictured together, first got together in 2018 at a conference in Washington DC.
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Sabatini → picture → DC
Their relationship ended in January 2020 when Sabatini told her he wanted to date another scientist, after which Knouse reported him for alleged misconduct
Arrowood asked Knouse to explain what she meant by the message.
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she → end → message
Knouse replied: 'I think I was joking about the fact that I had been more forward in that encounter by stopping by his room.
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I → reply → room
'Up until then, he had always been the one coming to my apartment.'
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he → come → apartment
Another message addressed in the deposition saw Knouse state that 'I know what I want, and I go after it.'
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I → address → it
Several texts were entered into evidence, including a slew of messages that demonstrated Knouse's alleged jealousy and insecurities throughout the affair.
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that → enter → affair
In one message, the biologist wrote that she would 'fixate on how I'm being held as a backup and competed against other women,' the court heard.
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court → write → women
She further told Sabatini that the anxiety she felt was 'not healthy for me, my science, or our relationship.'
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she → tell → me
When he admitted to kissing another woman, Knouse wrote: 'I'll be honest and say it definitely hurts to validate some of my anxieties in light of our closeness and discussions over the past few weeks.'
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it → admit → weeks
He sued Knouse for defamation five years ago, insisting he had been unfairly targeted by a smear campaign, which he alleged was launched by Knouse when he ended their tryst.
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he → sue → tryst
Sabatini, in his first interview since a jury awarded him a $6 million settlement this month, told Boston 25 how he 'lost everything' because of Knouse's accusations
Knouse, seen in a laboratory at MIT, alleged that she felt pressure from Sabatini during their relationship due to his status as her boss and as a scientific leader
Knouse then countersued Sabatini, alleging he abused his position of power over her to coerce her into an abusive work culture and non-consensual relationship.
The dueling lawsuits were heard in a Boston courtroom over a grueling three-week civil trial that concluded earlier this month.
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that → award → trial
Evidence submitted to the court showed how Knouse referred to her campaign against Sabatini as 'Covert Operation Dethrone' and joked that she would buy a 'Lambo' if she won a settlement.
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she → submit → settlement
In a text exchange from April 2021, a friend told Knouse that Sabatini 'doesn't deserve all the power he has,' the court heard.
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court → tell → power
Knouse wrote back, 'He should have none,' before telling the friend how her attorney 'straight up told MIT 'you have a rapist on your faculty.'
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you → write → faculty
The friend also admitted to branding Sabatini a 'rapist' in a meeting.
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friend → admit → meeting
Even though he won the lawsuit, Sabatini said he still 'lost everything' because of the case.
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he → win → case
Knouse, 38, alleged that Sabatini coerced into having an inappropriate and abusive affair with him that lasted over a year, a jury heard.
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jury → allege → year
He argued their sexual relationship was consensual
'
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relationship → argue → ?
There was nothing left of my normal life,' the molecular biologist told Boston 25, adding that 'it became clear that the only way to clear my name was to have a victory such as the one we've had.'
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we → be → one
Sabatini was ousted from his position at MIT in 2021, after an internal investigation revealed that he violated a strict workplace relationship policy at the world-famous Whitehead Institute, where he ran his own lab, by having an affair with Knouse.
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he → oust → Knouse
The two first got together in 2018 at a conference in Washington DC, when Knouse was preparing to begin as a Whitehead Fellow.
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Knouse → get → Fellow
Sabatini had begun mentoring Knouse to start her own laboratory, and bonded over a shared love of science and molecular biology.
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Sabatini → begin → science
Both scientists admit they had sex at the conference, with Sabatini saying they had a consensual encounter while Knouse said she was coerced after trying to resist.
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she → admit → encounter
But during the three-week trial in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Sabatini's attorneys presented texts Knouse sent the next morning in which she expressed no regrets about their night together in DC.
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she → present → DC
The two scientists then carried on the affair for around a year and a half, and they told investigators they had sex roughly 15 times while maintaining a friendship.
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they → carry → friendship
Sabatini said he slipped into depression due to the collapse of his professional and private life, and he told the court that he attempted suicide.
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he → say → suicide
He is pictured with his moving boxes after he was ousted from MIT
Sabatini argued in court that the allegations have cost him almost $2 million between 2020 and 2025, and his attorney argued that he was a victim of an overzealous #MeToo campaign that unjustly condemned him
Sabatini said he continued mentoring Knouse and seeing her outside of work, but felt their relationship changed when she wanted a deeper commitment from him in 2019.
Knouse, however, claimed she felt pressured by Sabatini's professional status as her boss, and began feeling used and sexually exploited.
Their relationship ended in January 2020 when Sabatini told her he wanted to date another scientist, after which Knouse reported him to the Whitehead Institute for alleged misconduct.
Whitehead launched an independent investigation into Sabatini, and in August 2021 he resigned after investigators found he fostered 'sexist and sexualized work discussions.'
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he → picture → discussions
He resigned from his tenured position at MIT the next year, and he became one of the faces of the #MeToo movement that was gripping the nation at the time.
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that → resign → time
…and 6 more, not listed.
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