MIT biologist Kristin Knouse who wrongfully accused professor of sexual misconduct targets him again after he wins a $6 million defamation lawsuit against her: 'He sent a mob after me’

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) assistant professor Kristin Knouse has issued a reaction after the professor she had accused of sexual misconduct won a $6 million defamation lawsuit filed against her. According to a report by the Daily Mail, Knouse, 38, said: "I am the target of a massive smear campaign and getting death threats," adding: "I don't want to talk to anybody."

'Been getting death threats'

Asked who was behind the alleged smear campaign, Knouse told the Daily Mail: "He sent a mob after me, and a lot of your publications are too. I've been getting death threats because of the press that's been circulating. I'm not comfortable speaking to anybody."

Sabatini won $6m defamation suit

In October, David Sabatini won a $6 million award in his defamation lawsuit against Knouse. Sabatini, a prominent biologist who ran a research lab at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge for more than two decades, saw his career getting derailed by Knouse's accusations.

He was forced out of his job in 2021 after an internal Whitehead probe found that he had a past sexual relationship with a younger and less experienced colleague. Knouse claimed that the relationship was coerced.

Sabatini maintained that his relationship with Knouse had been consensual and that she schemed to get him fired and disgraced after he ended their relationship.

Knouse's texts highlighted in court

According to court documents cited by the Daily Mail, Knouse had texted Sabatini during their casual relationship that she "really liked sex to be hard". She had also sent a text to a friend saying she wanted to "feel like I've been gang raped", as per the publication.

The Daily Mail further reported that Knouse admitted in a taped deposition that she had once "aggressively" pursued Sabatini for sex during a hotel stay and jokingly used the phrase "HeToo" to describe her own behavior.

Knouse had reported Sabatini to the Whitehead Institute over sexual harassment claims in October 2020. MIT launched a formal investigation in March 2021. Around that time, Knouse texted her friends saying she intended to get Sabatini "Weinstein-ed out of science," according to the Daily Mail.

The message was a reference to the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of sexual abuse and rape by dozens of women, complaints that started the #MeToo movement.

Sabatini reacts to Knouse's claims

Sabatini was, in 2023, hired by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague, and later opened a Boston-area branch of that institute, according to The New York Times. The professor has been splitting time between Massachusetts and the Czech Republic.

On Tuesday, Sabatini denied Knouse's latest claims against him, telling the Daily Mail: 'I certainly have not sent any mob against her."

He added that he had offered to settle with Knouse earlier in the legal process. "I don't think it's justified that she keeps attacking me."