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, multiple sources say.
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 connection with the crimes in 2022, also admitted four counts of accessing child abuse material, the media reported.
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 to the point of near-death, NBC News reported, citing court documents. He then shared the explicit videos online under various pseudonyms.
Britton, who used an Australian online marketplace to secure dogs from owners who were forced to give their pets away, abused the animals in a shipping container on his property that he had installed recording equipment in, the BBC reported, according to court documents. He called the container the “torture chamber.”
After they were killed, Britton fed some of the dogs' remains to crocodiles, the BBC reported, citing court documents.
“I deeply regret the pain and trauma I 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 “sheer pleasure” he took in torturing the dogs was “repulsively obvious”, the BBC reported.
The judge confirmed that Britton had deliberately killed at least 39 dogs.
Britton was caught by authorities after uploading a clip of himself torturing at least eight dogs, all but one of which were puppies, the BBC reported. Someone who saw the video passed it on to the Northern Territory Police Force in an anonymous tip-off. Police seized recording equipment, animal remains, weapons and a laptop, which also contained 15 files of child abuse material, in April 2022.
“[Your] “Depravity is completely beyond the realm of any normal human understanding,” Grant said of Britton during his sentencing hearing, according to the British broadcaster.
Adam Britton Confesses He Has 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 others. He added that he would seek long-term treatment for his problems.
“I now recognize that I have battled a rare paraphilic disorder for most of my life,” he said, according to NBC News. “And that shame and fear kept me from seeking the proper help I needed.”
According to NBC News, citing court documents, he sexually abused his own dogs, Ursa and Bolt, for years before Britton's crimes came to light.
“My own dogs are family and I have limits,” he said in a Telegram message cited in the documents. “I only mistreat other dogs badly… I have no emotional connection with them, they are pure and simple toys. And (there are) many more dogs where they came from.”
Britton grew up in West Yorkshire and before moving to Australia 20 years ago, he had a “sadistic sexual interest” in animals, court documents allege, according to the BBC.
“As a child I was sadistic towards animals but I suppressed it. Over the last few years I have let it go and now I can't stop. I don't want to. :),” he wrote in a message shared in court, according to the BBC.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Adam Britton convicted of sex crimes involving dog torture
