A British cave diver who was pivotal in the rescue operation of 12 teenagers and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has sued tech billionaire Elon Musk for defamation. Musk had made repeated claims that the diver, Vernon Unsworth, is a child abuser.
The allegations were made without evidence and mostly as a response to Unsworth's comments in July, the divers lawyers said. Unsworth had said that the submarine that Musk had suggested could be used to help save the trapped teens was "just a PR stunt [that] had absolutely no chance of working". He went on to say that Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts".
Musk responded with a series of tweets accusing Unsworth of being a paedophile. He later deleted the tweets and offered an apology to the diver. But Musk reignited the issue earlier this month by emailing a reporter that Unsworth was a "child rapist". Musk had tweeted it was "strange he hasn't sued me" after Unsworth said he was considering legal action.
Musk has claimed in the email to the reporter that Unsworth was shunned by the other divers at the scene in Thailand. It is true that Unworth did not take part in the dives tat resulted in the finding the boys, but he had extensive knowledge of the caves as he had explored it before. He knew about the raised ledge known as the Pattaya Beach were the boys and their coach were thought to have taken refuge. He had gone into the cave shortly after the boys had gone missing and had called in the two British divers who eventually found the boys.
According to a BBC report, several divers told Buzzfeed that he had worked continuously on the rescue. "He was pivotal to the entire operation," said British diver Rick Stanton.
Unsworth is seeking $75,000 in compensation and an injunction against Musk to stop further allegations. The filing also says Mr Unsworth is seeking "punitive damages" as well as the compensation, "to punish him for his wrongdoing and deter him from repeating such heinous conduct". It says Musk sometimes used his Twitter account and emails to "publish to the world false and defamatory accusations" against the Briton. The suit was filed in California and another suit will follow in London.
Mark Stephens, Unsworth's lawyer from the firm Howard Kennedy, confirmed that the diver was in a relationship with a Thai woman. The woman told Buzzfeed that she is 40 years old and that she had been in a relationship with Unsworth for seven years. The couple had met in London, where Unsworth lives, and the relationship had continued while he was in Thailand exploring the Tham Luang cave complex, Stephens said.
