Justice for victims of Adam Britton - Rapist, Torturer & Murderer of Pet Dogs
The issue
Britton, 52, confessed in online messages he abused animals since he was a child and sexually abused his own dogs. But between 2020 and 2022 obtained at least 39 dogs by trawling through ads on Gumtree Australia searching for people in the Darwin area who were looking to re-home their pets. He had alerts on his phone when a new dog was listed for free and would quickly email the owners and build rapport by telling them he could give their pets a good life, and that he was simply 'after a companion'.
Original charges and agreed facts indicate there were many many more victims than 39.
Britton took family pets to sexually abuse, torture and kill on camera. The NT Supreme Court heard how he abused the animals in a shipping container which he called his "torture room". He had fitted it out with torture equipment and recording equipment. He would tape their muzzles like a crocodile so they could not be heard. He referred to them as his "f**** toys".
He used online accounts to engage with like-minded people about animal cruelty and bestiality, but his undoing came shortly after he uploaded a video involving a female dog and her 9 puppies to an abuse website on March 22, 2022.
The following day, an anonymous internet user noticed the adult female dog was wearing an orange City of Darwin leash with the slogan 'great pets start with you'.
They referred the footage to the NT Animal Welfare Branch who then referred the matter to police.
On April 22 2022, a month after Britton posted the video online, NT Police and Australian Federal Police raided his McMinns Lagoon home, in Darwin's rural area.
Detectives seized computers, mobile phones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, weapons, dog paraphernalia and sex toys.
They also found severed dog limbs in a freezer, a decomposing puppy in a pond on the property, and a severed dog head on a neighbouring property.
Britton was charged with 37 counts of animal cruelty, 10 counts of raping or attempting to rape a dog, and four counts of possessing or transmitting child abuse material. Monday 25th Sept 2023, the Zoologist and CDU academic pleaded guilty in the Darwin Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Michael Grant warned the gallery the facts of the offending detailed "acts that could only be described as grotesque cruelty which are both confronting and distressing". "Which in my assessment have the potential to cause nervous shock or some other adverse psychological reaction to a person exposed to those details," he said.
In a rare occurrence, the Chief Justice also excused the security officers and sheriffs from the courtroom while the facts were put on the record.
He has been on remand in custody since his arrest and is due in court for Sentencing Submissions on 11th July 2024.
The maximum penalty in the Northern Territory for aggravated animal cruelty is 5 years and maximum penalty for bestiality 3 years. At the time of sentencing, Britton will have served over 24 months already.
This type of globally unprecedented barbarism and his online confessions of offending since he was a child demonstrate the incompatibility with society or of rehabilitation.
Upon release he will re-offend somewhere in the world. A mass murdering animal psychopath is one step away from mass murdering of humans.
Since Britton's arrest the NT parliament has passed legislation to increase the maximum sentence for bestiality from 3 years to 7 years. This is a good start. Unfortunately Britton can only be sentenced to the max penalties at the time of his known offences occurring.
Clearly the current legislation, although allowing for a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment is not enough for the most extreme psychopathic serial killer such as Britton.
We are asking for a stand alone provision to be added to the Animal Welfare Act 2018 for extreme aggravated cruelty / torture to be increased from 5 years to a maximum of 15 years. To protect our animals and possibly humans by providing justly appropriate and protective sentencing over crimes of this magnitude.
It is incumbent upon all members of NT Parliament along with all state and Federal Parliaments to act immediately to protect all our animals and potentially humans by ensuring this type of barbarian is not released and if released his identity not protected.
NT Minister for Animal Welfare – Hon Mark Monaghan
NT Chief Minister – Hon Eva Lawler
NT Attorney General & Minister for Justice – Hon Chanston Paech
12,409
The issue
Britton, 52, confessed in online messages he abused animals since he was a child and sexually abused his own dogs. But between 2020 and 2022 obtained at least 39 dogs by trawling through ads on Gumtree Australia searching for people in the Darwin area who were looking to re-home their pets. He had alerts on his phone when a new dog was listed for free and would quickly email the owners and build rapport by telling them he could give their pets a good life, and that he was simply 'after a companion'.
Original charges and agreed facts indicate there were many many more victims than 39.
Britton took family pets to sexually abuse, torture and kill on camera. The NT Supreme Court heard how he abused the animals in a shipping container which he called his "torture room". He had fitted it out with torture equipment and recording equipment. He would tape their muzzles like a crocodile so they could not be heard. He referred to them as his "f**** toys".
He used online accounts to engage with like-minded people about animal cruelty and bestiality, but his undoing came shortly after he uploaded a video involving a female dog and her 9 puppies to an abuse website on March 22, 2022.
The following day, an anonymous internet user noticed the adult female dog was wearing an orange City of Darwin leash with the slogan 'great pets start with you'.
They referred the footage to the NT Animal Welfare Branch who then referred the matter to police.
On April 22 2022, a month after Britton posted the video online, NT Police and Australian Federal Police raided his McMinns Lagoon home, in Darwin's rural area.
Detectives seized computers, mobile phones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, weapons, dog paraphernalia and sex toys.
They also found severed dog limbs in a freezer, a decomposing puppy in a pond on the property, and a severed dog head on a neighbouring property.
Britton was charged with 37 counts of animal cruelty, 10 counts of raping or attempting to rape a dog, and four counts of possessing or transmitting child abuse material. Monday 25th Sept 2023, the Zoologist and CDU academic pleaded guilty in the Darwin Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Michael Grant warned the gallery the facts of the offending detailed "acts that could only be described as grotesque cruelty which are both confronting and distressing". "Which in my assessment have the potential to cause nervous shock or some other adverse psychological reaction to a person exposed to those details," he said.
In a rare occurrence, the Chief Justice also excused the security officers and sheriffs from the courtroom while the facts were put on the record.
He has been on remand in custody since his arrest and is due in court for Sentencing Submissions on 11th July 2024.
The maximum penalty in the Northern Territory for aggravated animal cruelty is 5 years and maximum penalty for bestiality 3 years. At the time of sentencing, Britton will have served over 24 months already.
This type of globally unprecedented barbarism and his online confessions of offending since he was a child demonstrate the incompatibility with society or of rehabilitation.
Upon release he will re-offend somewhere in the world. A mass murdering animal psychopath is one step away from mass murdering of humans.
Since Britton's arrest the NT parliament has passed legislation to increase the maximum sentence for bestiality from 3 years to 7 years. This is a good start. Unfortunately Britton can only be sentenced to the max penalties at the time of his known offences occurring.
Clearly the current legislation, although allowing for a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment is not enough for the most extreme psychopathic serial killer such as Britton.
We are asking for a stand alone provision to be added to the Animal Welfare Act 2018 for extreme aggravated cruelty / torture to be increased from 5 years to a maximum of 15 years. To protect our animals and possibly humans by providing justly appropriate and protective sentencing over crimes of this magnitude.
It is incumbent upon all members of NT Parliament along with all state and Federal Parliaments to act immediately to protect all our animals and potentially humans by ensuring this type of barbarian is not released and if released his identity not protected.
NT Minister for Animal Welfare – Hon Mark Monaghan
NT Chief Minister – Hon Eva Lawler
NT Attorney General & Minister for Justice – Hon Chanston Paech
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Petition created on 1 October 2023