Renowned British-born crocodile expert Adam Britton was sentenced Thursday to more than 10 years and five months in jail in Australia over dozens of cases of sexually abusing dogs.
Britton, who worked with outlets like the BBC and National Geographic, pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty, CBS News partner network BBC News reported.
Britton also admitted to four counts of accessing child abuse material, according to the BBC.
Chief Justice Michael Grant warned the court that the details of Britton’s crimes were so “grotesque,” that when they were read aloud they could cause “nervous shock.”
As they were read out, some people rushed out of the room. Others watching from the gallery mouthed insults at Britton or cried, the BBC reported.
Britton “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 in an online chat room that was introduced in court.
He would manipulate his own pets, but “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,” he said, according to the BBC.
According to court documents seen by the BBC, in the 18 months before his arrest, Britton tortured 42 dogs and killed 39 of them. He would find animals on the website Gumtree Australia, where many families were often searching for new homes for their pets if they had to move.
Britton would then abuse the animals in a specially designed shipping container fitted with recording equipment on his property. He would upload the material to the internet and was caught because in one clip — where he tortured eight dogs, including seven puppies — an identifying dog leash was visible, and someone turned the clip over to police, the BBC reported.
Britton was arrested in April 2022. Police seized his recording materials and found 15 files containing child abuse material.
“Once respected and esteemed, you’re now a disgrace to the scientific community,” said activist Natalie Carey said, addressing the zoologist directly outside the court. “No one will ever look at you with admiration again.”
