A British crocodile expert who admitted in court to filming himself sexually abusing, torturing and killing dozens of dogs will spend the next 10 years in prison, according to multiple reports.
Adam Britton, 53, was sentenced to 10 years and five months in an Australian prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to 56 counts of bestiality and animal cruelty, the BBC and NBC News reported. Britton, who was arrested in 2022 in connection with the crimes, also admitted four counts of accessing child abuse material, according to news outlets.
The Northern Territory Supreme Court heard from prosecutors that Britton filmed himself from November 2020 to April 2022 torturing 42 dogs of various ages and breeds until the animals nearly died, NBC News reported, citing court documents. He then shared the explicit videos online under different aliases.
Britton, who used an Australian online marketplace to protect dogs from owners who had to give away their pets, abused the animals in a container on his property in which he placed recording equipment, the BBC reported, according to court documents . He would call this container a “torture room.”
Once dead, Britton would feed some of the dogs’ remains to crocodiles, according to the BBC, according to court records.
“I am deeply sorry for the pain and trauma I have caused innocent animals,” Britton said in a letter dated July 16, according to NBC News.
Judge calls Adam Britton’s actions ‘grotesque’
Chief Justice Michael Grant also called Britton’s actions “grotesque” and said the “utter pleasure” he took in torturing the dogs was “sickeningly evident,” the BBC reported.
The judge confirmed that at least 39 of the dogs were intentionally killed by Britton.
Britton was caught by authorities after uploading a clip of him torturing at least eight dogs, all puppies except one, according to the BBC. Someone who saw the video passed it on to the Northern Territory Police Force in an anonymous tip. In April 2022, police seized recording devices, animal remains, weapons and a laptop, which also contained 15 files containing child abuse material.
“[Your] depravity is utterly beyond any common human conception,” Grant said of Britton during his sentencing hearing, according to the British broadcaster.
Adam Britton confesses to having a mental disorder
Britton told the court during the sentencing hearing that he suffered from a mental disorder that caused intense and atypical sexual interests that were harmful to other people. He added that he would seek long-term treatment for his problems.
“I now recognize that I have struggled with a rare paraphilic disorder for much of my life,” he said, according to NBC News. “and this shame and fear prevented me from seeking the proper help I needed.”
Before Britton’s crimes were discovered, he sexually abused his own dogs, Ursa and Bolt, for years, according to NBC News, citing court documents.
“My own dogs are family and I have limits,” he said in a Telegram message cited in the documents. “I only mistreat other dogs… I have no emotional bond with them, they are pure and simple toys. And (there are) many more where they came from.”
Even though he grew up in West Yorkshire before moving to Australia 20 years ago, Britton had a “sadistic sexual interest” in animals, court documents say, according to the BBC.
“As a child, I was sadistic towards animals, but I suppressed it. In the last few years I’ve let it slip again and now I can’t stop. a message reported by the BBC was shared in court.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Adam Britton convicted of sexual crimes involving dogs that were tortured
