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A BRITISH CAVE diver branded “sus” and “pedo guy” by tech billionaire Elon Musk was left feeling “humiliated, ashamed, dirtied,” a court has heard.
Vernon Unsworth’s voice cracked as he gave evidence in his defamation case against the Tesla co-founder.
The row started when Mr Unsworth, who helped with the perilous underwater rescue of children trapped in a Thai cave, dismissed Mr Musk’s offer of aid as a publicity stunt.
Mr Unsworth, who divides his time between London and Thailand, gave evidence at a Los Angeles court on Wednesday and appeared on the verge of tears while describing the impact of Mr Musk’s tweets.
Asked how he felt after seeing what Mr Musk’s tweeted, he replied: “It feels very raw. I feel humiliated. Ashamed. Dirtied.
“From day one I was given a life sentence without parole. And at times I feel very vulnerable, it hurts to even talk about it.”
Mr Unsworth, a veteran cave explorer who said he first travelled to Thailand in 2011, added Mr Musk’s tweet was “very hurtful”.
“I find it disgusting,” he said. “I find it very hard to even read the word, never mind talk about.”
Mr Unsworth was then asked about a follow-up tweet from Musk, in which he said words to the effect of “Don’t you think it’s strange he hasn’t sued me?”
Mr Unsworth said he was “obviously” aware of the post, and asked what it meant, replied: “If I did not (sue) it must be true. Which it is not.”
The British diver said his name is “tagged with being a paedophile”.
Discussing the impact of the tweets, he said: “I have probably lost a bit of self-confidence. I have good days and bad days.”
“I still feel dirtied,” he added.
Thai cave rescue
Mr Unsworth, a financial consultant, told the court he first travelled to Thailand in 2011 with his girlfriend Woranan Ratrawiphukkun, known as Tik.
The 64-year-old said he had explored caves around the world and was an expert in the layout of the system the children were trapped in.
He first realised there was an issue when Tik was told by her father on June 24.
Mr Unsworth became heavily involved in the rescue, the court heard.
He met with senior Thai politicians, including the interior minister and sports minister.
During the three days the 12 boys and their football coach were rescued from the cave over July 8-10, Mr Unsworth said he did not sleep “at all”.
“I was there 24/7 either in the cave or giving advice to officials,” he said.
The row between the British rescuer and Mr Musk started after Mr Unsworth gave an interview to CNN, in which he dismissed Mr Musk’s offer of a mini submersible to aid the rescue and said the Tesla founder should “stick his submarine where it hurts”.
Asked what he based the assessment on, Mr Unsworth said Mr Musk’s proposed submersible was “just not practical for the cave system”.
During the first day of the trial on Tuesday, Mr Musk appeared in court to deny “pedo guy” was an allegation of paedophilia.
The billionaire dismissed it as a Twitter insult between two men having a row.
Mr Musk insisted the phrase “pedo guy” was commonly used in his native South Africa and meant “creepy old guy” and not that Mr Unsworth was a paedophile.
Asked by Lin Wood, one of Mr Unsworth’s lawyers, why he did not offer the defence earlier, Mr Musk replied: “I think it would have been worse.”
He said “it’s like if I called someone a mothereffer,” adding it would seem “sarcastic” to say “I did not mean they committed incest”.
Mr Unsworth is suing for defamation over the July 15 2018 tweet.
To think there’s a family out there who’s probably been looking for that poor girl for the last twenty years , it’s very sad .
And what about the disappeared don’t they count?
How do you lose a skull?
The poor girl,how could she ever rest in peace,no family as yet,buried in a place she probably never knew,from her shoulders down in a coffin and her skull probably in a box in a basement somewhere..such a sad story..your right Jane how do you lose a skull..
My parents were involved in the recovery of the body of a man in the early 2000′s (?) in the Shannon Estuary. That man has never been identified. He was given a state burial in Ennis. Another member of the rescue crew entered a competition on Clare FM a short time after to win a headstone. The competition called for people to write their own epitaph. He wrote one for the unidentified man and won. “All you people of Co. Clare, kneel down here and say a prayer, for the man from God knows where”. Very sad to think that there is no name on that headstone.
That made me go cold. What a lovely thing to do for someone and a lovely epitaph.Unclaimed bodies always make me feel so terribly sad, lost souls,some never missed and others never found.
With technology and communication being so advanced it is hard to believe this persons family or friends can not be located ..very sad story ..
Great and sensitive article.
another massive Fail for the Irish State – We are good at failure.
Thats the sad thing about stories like this, maybe no family to miss her! Like the lady who’s body was found in the sea in clontarff I dont think she was even identified never mind been missed! We all take it so much for granted that everyone has family! Cherish yours everyday♡♡
A pretty epic fail really by forensic standards. No dental xrays,no chance of facial reconstrustion. Plus its just bad form to loose a part of someone,how’d you even do that its not exactly a set if keys!
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