When prominent biotech founder David Sabatini was ousted by the Whitehead Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute this summer over sexual harassment allegations, he fought back with a lawsuit claiming he was falsely accused.
On Monday, a main defendant in that case — one of Sabatini’s accusers — filed a counterclaim maintaining that Sabatini condoned a ‘toxic and sexually charged lab environment,’ and that he coerced her into a non-consenual sexual relationship.
The defense called Sabatini’s lawsuit a ‘frivolous’ attempt to ‘smear [the defendant’s] reputation,’ according to court documents. And while Sabatini claimed he had a consensual sexual relationship with the defendant while she was a fellow at the Whitehead Institute, which was ‘effectively over’ by 2019, the counterclaim states the opposite.
In court documents, the defendant said Sabatini would frequently invite her social events, where ‘alcohol flowed freely,’ and where ‘[a]ll of the conversations were … 85% sexual 15% science.’
‘When women joined the Sabatini Lab, it happened more than once that Sabatini tried to engage them in unwelcomed discussions about their private, sexual lives and he groomed them, exploring just how far he could go with those under his authority,’ the document states.
On one occasion, the defendant notes, Sabatini reportedly pulled another female post-doc fellow aside at a 2016 retreat and asked her to choose between two male post-doc fellows for sex. Another woman claimed that while she was an undergrad, Sabatini offered to change her flight and hotel room on an international trip so she could greet him when he arrived, and spend time with him after a talk.
The defendant also claimed that after dinner one night on a networking trip, Sabatini suggested she come back to his room to ‘continue a scientific conversation they were having,’ then made unwanted advances.
‘He ultimately said that he was so aroused that she either needed to submit or ‘get out,” the court documents read.
The defendant said in the counterclaim that she tried to resist his advances, but ‘although she never consented, he had his way.’
In his original claim, filed against the accuser, the Whitehead Institute, and director Ruth Lehmann, Sabatini claimed he was falsely accused by a ‘former lover’ looking to ‘exact revenge.’
In March 2021, director Ruth Lehmann spurred an investigation into the culture in Sabatini’s lab after learning of sexual harassment accusations against him. Sabatini’s accuser reported that he made unwelcome sexual advances, and threatened to retaliate against her if she reported him, the documents state.
‘People are scared of David and know he’s vindictive,’ a male member of the lab is quoted in the counterclaim.
Sabatini’s attorneys called the resulting investigation a ‘sham,’ and the allegations a ‘fabricated tale of harassment.’
On Aug, 20, a week after receiving the report, the Whitehead forced Sabatini to resign for violating the institute’s sexual harassment policies. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which provided funding for Sabatini’s position, also ousted him that day for the same reason.
The case was the latest in a string of accusations regarding sexual harassment to bring down prominent players in biopharma, including Moncef Slaoui, who accepted responsibility for misconduct that spurred an investigation at GlaxoSmithKline. Josh Smiley was fired from his job as CFO at Eli Lilly earlier this year after sending ‘consensual though inappropriate’ personal messages to an employee. And anti-aging researcher Aubrey de Grey was ousted in August after being accused of harassing two female colleagues, including one who was a minor at the time.
https://endpts.com/accuser-fires-back-at-mit-scientist-david-sabatinis-claims-he-was-falsely-accused-of-sexual-harassment/
