Wenslus Murape
SYDNEY. – A renowned British crocodile expert has been jailed for 10 years and five months in Australia, after admitting to sexually abusing dozens of dogs, in a case which horrified Australia.
Adam Britton, a leading zoologist who has worked on BBC and National Geographic productions, pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty.
He also admitted to four counts of accessing child abuse material.
The Northern Territory (NT) Supreme Court heard the 53-year-old filmed himself torturing the animals until almost all died, and then shared the videos online under pseudonyms.
Locals have told media he seemed like a quiet but passionate defender of animals.
But he was harbouring a “sadistic sexual interest” in them, court documents say. Exchanges with “like-minded” people in secret online chatrooms detail how Britton began molesting horses at the age of 13.
“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. :),” he wrote in one message tendered to the court.
His abuse went unnoticed for years, until a clue was found in one of his videos. Britton was arrested in April 2022 after a search of his rural Darwin property, which also uncovered child abuse material on his laptop.
He tortured at least 42 dogs, killing 39 of them, according to court documents seen by the BBC.
The files only detail his crimes over the 18 months before his arrest, but still fill more than 90 pages.
Much of the detail of Britton’s crimes are too graphic to publish, and so “grotesque” Chief Justice Michael Grant warned the courtroom they could cause “nervous shock”.
As the facts of the case were read aloud, some members of the public rushed outside.
Others watching from the gallery cried and mouthed insults at Britton. He at times hung his head and reached for tissues.
Calling the offending “devious”, Justice Grant said the “unalloyed pleasure” Britton took in torturing the animals was “sickeningly evident”.
“(Your) depravity falls entirely outside any ordinary human conception,” he said.
Including time already served, Britton could be eligible for parole in September 2028.
He is also banned from owning any mammals for the rest of his life.
Mr Britton’s lawyer argued his offending was driven by a rare disorder causing intense, atypical sexual interests.
In court yesterday, they read out a letter from Britton, who apologised for his “demeaning crimes”.
“I deeply regret the pain and trauma that I caused to innocent animals and consequently to my family, friends and members of the community,” it said.
Adding that his family was not aware or involved in any way, he wrote: “I will seek long term treatment and… I will find a path towards redemption.” – BBC
Online Reporter