27-9-2023 (SYDNEY) A renowned crocodile expert and former Charles Darwin University researcher in the Northern Territory has admitted to a series of animal cruelty charges involving dogs. Adam Robert Corden Britton, aged 51, initiated his offenses in 2014, and the gruesome acts continued until his arrest in April 2022. In a hearing at the NT Supreme Court, Britton calmly pleaded guilty to a total of 56 charges related to animal cruelty against dogs. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to four counts of accessing and transmitting child abuse material.
Before the prosecutor, Marty Aust, detailed the agreed facts of the charges, NT Chief Justice Michael Grant called for the public gallery, security staff, and media to exit the courtroom. He warned, “These facts contain material that can only be described as grotesque and perverse acts of cruelty, which is confronting and distressing and which, in my assessment, have the potential to cause nervous shock.”
The offenses were too disturbing to be published, but they resulted in the death of 39 dogs.
Aust revealed that the offender had displayed sadistic sexual interest in animals, especially dogs. Alongside mistreating his own dogs, Britton obtained other canines from unsuspecting owners in the Darwin region through Gumtree Australia. He often established a rapport with dog owners and negotiated taking custody of their animals, many of whom reluctantly gave up their pets due to travel or work commitments.
Britton, a former academic, originally from the UK, earned his PhD in zoology from the University of Bristol. He would share videos and images of his despicable acts with the dogs on online forums using pseudonyms.
The NT Animal Welfare Branch received a video that eventually led to Britton’s arrest by the NT police in April 2022. He has been in custody since then.
Notably, Britton was a prominent expert on Northern Territory crocodiles and held a position as a senior research associate at CDU’s Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods. However, none of his crimes are alleged to have involved reptiles.
Sentencing submissions for Britton are scheduled for December 13.
