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MIT biologist who demanded 'hard' sex from professor launches new attack as disturbing texts emerge after his suicide attempt
An MIT biologist, who was accused of demanding "hard" sex from the professor she was casually involved with, has had her shocking texts revealed in court.
Kristin Knouse, 38, claimed she has received death threats following her legal battle with former Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist David Sabatini, 58, whose career collapsed after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged in 2021.
Sabatini, who has denied sexually harassing Knouse, recently won a $6 million defamation judgment against her following a legal dispute.
The former professor revealed to the Daily Mail that the allegations had ruined his personal and professional life so much that he had attempted suicide.
How the relationship led to a career-ending investigation
Sabatini and Knouse began a "casual" relationship in April 2018 while working at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is affiliated with MIT.
Knouse later alleged that Sabatini had used his senior position to pressure her into a relationship.
Other researchers also accused him of fostering a toxic and sexually charged environment in his lab, the publication reported.
Sabatini maintained that their relationship was consensual and ended after he decided to pursue a relationship with a former partner who lived in Germany in January 2020.
Knouse reportedly "went nuclear" and reported him to the Whitehead Institute for sexual harassment.
According to People, a 2021 internal investigation found that Sabatini had violated the Whitehead Institute's policy governing workplace relationships.
He ended up losing his position and resigned from MIT after university officials recommended revoking his tenure.
Sabatini later filed legal action against Whitehead, while Knouse brought claims against him, claiming that he had abused his position of power.
A Suffolk County jury ultimately sided with the former MIT professor on his defamation claim against Knouse, resulting in a $6 million judgment plus interest.
He reflected on the impact of the legal proceedings, saying: "This has completely destroyed me and completely changed my life.
"Nothing that remained from before is still operating. Everything is gone," he added.
Disturbing text messages revealed during legal proceedings
Messages between Sabatini and Knouse became a focus of the legal battle.
According to the court documents, Knouse told Sabatini that she "really liked sex to be hard".
When she was questioned about that text by Sabatini's lawyer Lisa Arrowood in a taped deposition, she said: "I imagine I would say that I was open to more, rougher, sex."
She was also asked about the shocking message she sent to a friend, saying she wanted to "feel like I've been gang raped" after an intense leg workout.
During the deposition, she acknowledged having once "aggressively" pursued Sabatini for sex during a hotel stay and jokingly used the hashtag "#HeToo" to describe her behavior.
Other messages presented during the dispute reportedly included Knouse expressing a desire to see Sabatini "Weinstein-ed out of science", referencing disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Knouse claims she is facing death threats
Sabatini has resumed his scientific career as a research group leader at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) in Prague.
Meanwhile, Knouse is an assistant professor of biology at MIT and a faculty member of its Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
Despite the verdict, the 38-year-old believes that she is "the target of a massive smear campaign" and alleges that she is "getting death threats".
When asked who was responsible for the alleged campaign, Knouse accused Sabatini of encouraging hostility toward her.
"He sent a mob after me, and a lot of your publications are too," she said to the Daily Mail. "I've been getting death threats because of the press that's been circulating. I'm not comfortable speaking to anybody."
Sabatini rejected Knouse's latest accusations during a conversation with the outlet, saying: "I certainly have not sent any mob against her."
"I don't know what she means by 'Your publications.' I don't have publications, maybe yours (referring to his communications with the Daily Mail), but I have not sent any mob," he said.
Sabatini added that he was "sad to hear" that his former partner was getting death threats and that there was no justification for such behavior.
He also claimed he had tried to resolve their legal conflict through a settlement, but Knouse had declined.
"She knows that I tried to fix this, and she didn't want that, so I don't think it's justified that she keeps attacking me," he said.