STAT+: Jury rules in favor of ousted Cambridge scientist David Sabatini, with $6 million in damages to be awarded — SkimNews
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- David Sabatini was awarded $6 million by a Suffolk County jury, which found that Kristin Knouse defamed him and interfered with his livelihood.
- Kristin Knouse must pay the $6 million verdict plus interest, after the jury rejected her claims of a coercive relationship with Sabatini in his Whitehead Institute lab.
- The jury, composed of seven women and six men, delivered a verdict that contradicted the #MeToo framing of Knouse’s allegations, siding firmly with Sabatini.
- Sabatini’s career collapsed after Knouse accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct, leading to his ouster from MIT and the Whitehead Institute.
- The Whitehead Institute lab where the alleged misconduct occurred became the center of a high-profile scientific and cultural controversy before the jury’s rebuke of Knouse’s claims.
Why it matters: Sabatini gains a rare legal vindication and financial compensation after public professional ruin, while Knouse faces a substantial monetary penalty and reputational damage. The case upends the typical trajectory of #MeToo accusations in elite academic settings, where institutional action often precedes legal judgment.
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