A Massachusetts jury is set to decide whether world-renowned molecular biologist David Sabatini is a manipulative sex pest or the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by a vengeful ex-girlfriend.
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Sabatini → set → girlfriend
Sabatini, 58, saw his glittering career fall apart in 2021 amid allegations that he had an inappropriate and abusive affair with Kristin Knouse, 38, a much younger scientist at his lab.
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he → see → lab
Knouse and other researchers accused Sabatini of running a toxic and sexually-charged laboratory, and allegations of abuse were escalated amid the #MeToo movement at the time.
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allegations → accuse → time
Once a star scientist who was billed as a future Nobel Prize winner, Sabatini was booted from his prestigious positions at the Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Sabatini → bill → Technology
He brought a civil lawsuit 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 → bring → tryst
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.
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he → countersue → culture
The dueling lawsuits were heard in a Boston courtroom over a grueling three-week civil trial that concluded on Wednesday, when jurors were sent to deliberate the scientist's fate.
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jurors → duel → fate
Sabatini, who has never been charged with a crime in connection with the allegations, testified that the ordeal left him broke and depressed, and he broke down on the stand as he said he even attempted suicide at his lowest point.
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he → charge → point
Renowned scientist David Sabatini, 58, lost his glittering career amid allegations of sexual harassment and coercion.
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Sabatini → lose → harassment
He claims he was the victim of a smear campaign from his ex-girlfriend
Sabatini was accused of an inappropriate and abusive affair with scientist Kristin Knouse, 38, (above) who he claims retaliated against him when he ended their tryst
The tryst between Sabatini and Knouse began in 2018 at a conference in Washington DC, when Sabatini was leading the esteemed Whitehead Institute and Knouse was preparing to begin as a Whitehead Fellow.
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Knouse → claim → 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
At trial, Sabatini's attorneys presented texts Knouse sent the next morning about going for a run and expressing no regrets about their night together, reports the Boston Globe.
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Globe → present → night
Sabatini's attorney Lisa Arrowood said in her closing argument on Wednesday: 'Was it stupid for [Sabatini] to have sex with her?
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Sabatini → say → her
After their night together in Washington DC, the two scientists carried on an 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 continued mentoring Knouse and seeing her outside of work, but felt their relationship changed when Knouse wanted a deeper commitment from him in 2019.
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Knouse → say → 2019
Once a star scientist who was billed as a future Nobel Prize winner, Sabatini was booted from his prestigious positions at the Whitehead Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology due to the allegations
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 seen in court in December
Knouse alleges that 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 → bill → discussions
He then 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
Sabatini saw his reputation destroyed by the allegations, and reports that he would be hired by New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine in 2022 led hundreds of students to stage a mass protest against the move.
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he → see → move
The scientist 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
Sabatini says 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.
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that → say → him
Knouse is now an assistant professor of Biology at MIT and a faculty member of its Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
His attorney Lisa Arrowood told the jury: 'The MeToo movement began with women coming forward about Harvey Weinstein and his multiple rapes and assaults.
'
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women → tell → Weinstein
It has helped change lives, but that movement is not meant to be turned into a weapon by a woman who welcomed a sexual relationship with a man, who sought it out, and then used that movement and its worthy goals to destroy a man because he chose another woman.
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he → help → woman
Sabatini has gone on to lead a laboratory in the Czech Republic, while Knouse is an assistant professor of Biology at MIT and a faculty member of its Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
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Knouse → go → Research
With the jury set to deliberate, both Sabatini and Knouse are attempting to win monetary damages, and the resurrection of their scientific careers.
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Sabatini → set → careers
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