British Crocodile Expert Adam Britton Jailed for 10 Years for Sexually Abusing Dogs
A British zoologist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Australia after pleading guilty to horrific crimes involving the sexual abuse and torture of dozens of dogs over several decades.
Adam Britton, originally from West Yorkshire but now residing in Australia, admitted to 56 charges related to bestiality and animal cruelty. The 53-year-old also confessed to four counts of accessing child abuse material.
During sentencing, Chief Justice Michael Grant condemned Britton’s actions, stating, “Your depravity falls outside any ordinary human conception,” and cleared the courtroom due to the graphic nature of the details, as reported by the Australian Associated Press.
The Northern Territory Supreme Court heard that Britton, a crocodile expert, used online platforms like Gumtree to lure people into leaving their pets in his care, often while they were traveling or relocating for work.
Britton recorded himself torturing these animals, most of whom died from the abuse, in a “torture room” he had set up in a shipping container equipped with recording devices. He then shared the videos in secret online chatrooms under various pseudonyms.
Court evidence revealed that Britton began abusing animals as early as age 13, starting with horses. In one message presented in court, he wrote, “I was sadistic as a child to animals, but I had repressed it. In the last few years I let it out again, and now I can’t stop. I don’t want to.”
According to court documents reviewed by the BBC, Britton tortured at least 42 dogs, killing 39 of them. The detailed records of his crimes over the 18 months leading up to his arrest span more than 90 pages.
Britton also admitted to sexually abusing his own Swiss Shepherd dogs, Ursa and Bolt, for nearly a decade. In a Telegram chat that was entered into evidence, he attempted to justify his actions, saying, “My own dogs are family and I have limits. I only badly mistreat other dogs… I have no emotional bond to them, they are toys pure and simple. And [there are] plenty more where they came from.”
When asked about disposing of the dogs’ remains, Britton, who shared his large property near Darwin with eight crocodiles, stated, “Some I feed to other animals.
Britton has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes.