Inside 'sadistic' crocodile expert's twisted double life and depraved fetishes

27 September 2023 , 08:27

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Adam Britton, 51, started abusing his own pets in 2014 (Image: ABC)

A sadistic British crocodile expert lead a twisted double life, hiding his depraved fetish for animal abuse from his devoted wife for years while he tortured and raped the pets in a shipping container.

Adam Britton, 51, from West Yorkshire who moved to Australia, started the abuse in 2014 and is thought to have attacked more than 42 dogs, many of them adopted from people on Gumtree Australia. The academic from Charles Darwin University in northern Australia - who was an acquaintance of David Attenborough and hosted him at his own home - stood emotionless in the dock at the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on Monday when he admitted all charges.

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of accessing and transmitting child abuse material. According to reports, he called the dogs "f*** toys", filmed the abuse and then shared the twisted acts under pseudonyms online.

Britton's dogs Ursa and Bolt (adambrittoncroc/Instagram)

Despite the long timescale of the hideous abuse and its terrible severity, Britton managed to keep the sick acts a secret from his devoted wife Erin. Erin, who worked as a wildlife ranger and even helped Prince Harry catch a crocodile, has since changed her surname, reports say. According to the National Geographic, where she works, she is set to be on wildlife expeditions for the next six months.

It has now emerged that Britton was taken down by internet sleuths who identified a dog leash in one of the torture videos he uploaded online, reports the Mail Online. The single clue was reported to police, who raided Britton's animal shelter, where they found the chopped up remains of a number of pets.

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Britton had been uploading videos of his crimes on to the Telegram encrypted messaging app under the names "monster" and "Cerberus" between 2020 and 2022. On the app, he would speak to other perverts about bestiality and they would exchange videos. In March last year, he posted a disturbing video on an abuse website, but the clip provided sleuths a glaring clue to help bring him down.

In a rare move on Monday, the presiding judge said the details of the case were so vile that he urged the public and media to leave the court before the facts were read out. He added that Britton's actions could "only be described as grotesque cruelty" that could cause "nervous shock".

Britton holding a young crocodile in 2007 (Big Wave Productions Ltd)

Adam Britton measures a captive crocodile in Bunawan town (AFP via Getty Images)

Prosecutors told the court how Britton had a "sadistic" sexual obsession with animals", and that his conduct caused the dogs to die from injuries sustained during the assaults.

Adding further unfathomable horror on to the case was how Britton went about procuring his victims. He set up alerts on Gumtree Australia for dogs needing new homes before visiting the families, building rapport with the owners, and their pets to his "torture room".

Last year, police said they seized 44 items including computers, mobile telephones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, weapons, dog paraphernalia and sex toys. They also found horrifying videos depicting animal cruelty and at least 15 child abuse material files on his laptop.

Crown prosecutor Marty Aust told the court that Britton operated a secret Telegram messaging account which was used for the sole purpose of engaging in conversations with "like-minded people."

He had a secondary account he used another account to upload and disseminate images and recordings of his crimes. In total, there were 114 chat threads. In one message, he told someone: "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." Britton was remanded in custody until 13 December when he will be sentenced.

Ryan Fahey