NT crocodile expert’s depraved childhood interest in animals
A crocodile expert outed as an extreme ‘zoosadist’ has had his sexual interest in animals detailed in court documents.
A one-time prominent crocodile expert outed as a depraved torturer and killer of dogs had only ever been sexually attracted to animals, court documents reveal.
Adam Robert Corden Britton had sexually abused, brutalised and killed at least 39 dogs in less than two years before he was finally tracked down by authorities in April 2022.
The former senior research associate at Charles Darwin University sourced these animals from sites including Gumtree, promising them a “good home”.
He regularly filmed himself carrying out acts a judge described as being of “sheer deviancy and brutality”, and uploaded them to bestiality sharing platforms under the pseudonyms ‘Monster’ and “Cerberus’.
Britton, 53, was sentenced to 10 years and five months, with a non-parole period of six years, on August 10 after pleading guilty to 56 offences.
In beginning his sentence remarks, Chief Justice Michael Grant warned they would include “graphic descriptions of what can only be described as grotesque depravity and cruelty towards animals”.
He believed some of the facts he had to read to the court had the potential to “cause nervous shock” or other physiological reactions.
Much of the detail included in the judgment are too grotesque and disturbing to report.
Justice Grant’s judgment released by the NT Supreme Court reveals Britton’s “unusual interest” in animals began about the age of six.
By age 10 things were beginning to escalate and he became “interested in animal sexuality”, fantasising about horses.
“You fantasised exclusively about animals and you had no sexual interest in other human beings,” Justice Grant wrote.
“You began sneaking out at night to a field near your home where horses were kept.
“Once there, you would hug the horses, lick their saliva and eat their hair.”
Britton had non-sexual relationships with two women while at university at a time he could “control and suppress” his urges towards animals, Justice Grant wrote.
He met his now ex-wife in 2001, after moving from England to Australia, but his attempts at intimacy were “hampered by (Britton’s) unorthodox sexual preferences”.
“Sexual intercourse with your wife was not something you enjoyed and was extremely sporadic as a result,” Justice Grant wrote.
“The relationship eventually became entirely platonic and asexual in nature.”
In 2014 he began interfering with his pet dogs and in 2019 Britton established the Monster online persona before beginning his “zoosadism” in 2020, the court documents state.
Justice Grant found there was no evidence to support Britton’s claims he was threatened with exposure by one of his darkweb contacts if he did not carry out “specific instructions”.
“You denied sexual arousal from the physical suffering of animals, but that denial would seem to be clearly inconsistent with the conduct depicted in the videos in which you recorded your activities,” the judge said.
“It is difficult to conceive how any crime of this nature could be more serious than the crimes committed by you.”
In an apology letter tendered to the court, Britton no words could “undo what I did”, saying he hoped long term treatment could help him “find a path of redemption”.
“I deeply regret the pain and trauma that I caused to innocent animals, an consequently to my family, friends and members of the community I respected,” he wrote.
“I let you all down and I’m sorry.
“I now acknowledge that I’ve been fighting a rare paraphilic disorder for much of my life, and that shame and fear prevented me from seeking the proper help I needed.”
The court heard he was considering taking anti-libidal medication to suppress his sexual interest in animals.
Britton’s sentence was backdated to April 2022, meaning he will first be eligible for parole in 2028.
He will never be allowed to own a mammal for the rest of his life.