Adam Britton's lifelong lie: Crocodile expert who raped and tortured pet dogs was NEVER attracted to humans despite his 16-year marriage - as his weird childhood obsession is revealed

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

A depraved zoologist who was jailed for a decade for filming the rape and torture of pet dogs was never attracted to humans, despite his 16-year marriage, and fantasised about animals from the age of six.

Adam Robert Corden Britton, 53, was this month sentenced to 10 years and five months behind bars, with a non-parole period of six years, backdated to his April 2022 arrest.

UK-born Britton, who moved to Darwin to pursue his zoology career, pleaded guilty to 63 charges of animal abuse, bestiality, and possession of child exploitation material. 

He sourced the dogs from Gumtree Australia over a two-year period for the sole purpose of torturing them to death on camera, but would tell the former owners their pets were enjoying their new home.

The dogs were usually already dead by the time updates were given to their old owners. Most were horrifically abused and slowly murdered within a few days.

On Thursday, sentencing remarks by NT Chief Justice Michael Grant were released by the Northern Territory Supreme Court.

The 42-page document, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, gives a horrifying insight into Britton's privileged childhood which was marred with depraved sexual fantasies - such as sneaking into paddocks at the age of ten to hug horses and eat their hair.

Justice Grant said he took psychology reports into consideration when delivering his punishment, noting Britton tried to wriggle out of a lengthy sentence with a range of weak excuses.

Before his deranged habits were uncovered, Adam Britton (pictured during an interview with Triple J) was a well-respected zoologist and crocodile expert

Adam Britton (pictured with his ex-wife) was jailed for more than 10 years

Britton told court-appointed psychologists he was chronically depressed before he started making home movies of himself raping, torturing and murdering dogs at the age of 49.

He also falsely claimed similar twisted perverts online, where he posted on Telegram under the pseudonyms Monster and Cerberus, threatened to expose him if he didn't create the content they requested.

Britton also tried to tell psychologists that he exaggerated his offending for the benefit of his online friends. 

But the judge ruled those arguments out. He said there was no evidence to suggest Britton was depressed - he did not tell anyone about it, he didn't write it down, nor did he seek medical help.

The judge also said there was no evidence to suggest Britton was blackmailed by Telegram users.

He said it was evident from the fact that he described his torture videos in great detail to his online friends - while saying things like, 'I just love hurting dogs'.

'The level of depravity in those communications and ideations matches the level of depravity which you demonstrated and recorded in the commission of the aggravated cruelty offences,' Justice Grant said.

'It should also be noted that the recordings provide clear and objective proof that you were in fact doing in real life what you were saying you were doing in those chatrooms.'

The judge also noted that Britton did not help police uncover the identities of those users.

Pictured: A Telegram conversation Britton had with a likeminded person

Britton (pictured left, with his ex-wife) once hosted Sir David Attenborough (right) at their property in Darwin

Police are still baffled as to how those users found out about Britton's arrest in April 2022, which prompted them to delete their Telegram accounts and remain in hiding. His name was not published in media reports until his guilty plea in 2023.

The sentencing remarks also outlined Britton's lifelong struggle with the socio-sexual disorder, paraphelia and zoosadism.

Britton was never attracted to humans and struggled to have proper relationships with women when he was a university student in Hong Kong and the UK. He had two female partners, but they were not sexual relationships.

After graduation, the judge said he had a 'brief' sexual relationship with a woman who worked in the animal industry.

'You attempted to establish a sexual relationship with her but those attempts were obviously hampered by your unorthodox sexual preferences,' said the judge.

'Sexual intercourse with your wife was not something you enjoyed and was extremely sporadic as a result. 

'The relationship eventually became entirely platonic and asexual in nature.'

There is no suggestion his wife knew about his offending or his interests. The court heard she often spent months away from home due to work commitments.

The judge said Britton's had an 'unusual' interest in animals from the age of six, when he would watch videos of animals defecating and urinating and fantasised about being immersed in cow faeces.

Adam Britton was sentenced to 10 years and five months in jail with a non-parole period of six years, backdated to his April 2022 arrest 

'You fantasised exclusively about animals and you had no sexual interest in other human beings,' he said.

'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.'

Justice Grant noted that Britton knew his interests would not be accepted by the broader community and tried to keep a lid on his fantasies for the first 49 years of his life.

He also acknowledged Britton was born with his psychological issues, through no fault of his own, but said a 'clear and definitive' choice was eventually made.

'To paraphrase your own words during your unguarded messaging, although you were slow to start acting on your perversion, once you did you loved it,' he said.

'You could not stop doing it and, moreover, you did not want to stop doing it.' 

The court heard Britton's paraphelia could not be cured and that he would likely have to take libido-suppressants to curb his interests and ensure he did not reoffend.

Britton had expressed remorse for his actions and was interested in doing what he could to ensure he didn't reoffend, but he was not enthusiastic about the prospect of medications. 

Adam Britton wrote a grovelling apology for harming the animals, which was tendered to the court (pictured)

Justice Grant noted that Britton had been in the protective custody wing of Darwin Correctional Centre since his arrest in 2022, but had been subject to verbal abuse from inmates who saw him in the exercise area.

He said there was a form of abuse, but did not give much weight to it in sentencing. 

Britton also tendered a short, hand-written apology detailing his struggles with paraphelia, for which he was too ashamed to seek help. 

The apology read: 'I take full responsibility for the demeaning crimes I perpetrated on dogs. I deeply regret pain and trauma that I caused to innocent animals, and consequently to my family, friends and members of the community I affected.

'I let you all down, and I'm truly 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.'

Britton said he was determined to seek long-term treatment to prove he was better than his horrific crimes, and to 'find a path towards redemption'.

'Please give my family the space they deserve to heal. They were not aware or involved in any way,' he added.

In 2022, new legislation was introduced in the NT increasing penalties for animal cruelty from a maximum of two years to five years, but Britton's offending predated the reforms.

He was also banned from owning a mammal for the rest of his natural life.