Adam Britton pleaded guilty to 60 charges, which also included four counts of accessing child abuse material.

Adam Britton, a leading zoologist who has worked on BBC and National Geographic productions, pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty.

He also admitted to four counts of accessing child abuse material.

The Northern Territory (NT) Supreme Court heard the 53-year-old filmed himself torturing the animals until almost all died, and then shared the videos online under pseudonyms.

His abuse went unnoticed for years, until a clue was found in one of his videos. Britton was arrested in April 2022 after a search of his rural Darwin property, which also uncovered child abuse material on his laptop.

  • @njm1314@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6•3 months ago

    It’s weird how often headlines bury that lede. Happened a lot with that Dutch volleyball player too. Headlines would never call him a child rapist. That’s what he did yet never in the headline.

    • JohnEdwaEnglish
      0•3 months ago

      On a technicality, as in the end he wasn’t convicted of that under Dutch law because rape (back then) required violence. Any newspaper directly calling him a child rapist opens themselves up to a possible lawsuit.

      The sentence was adjusted in line with Dutch law, and the charge of rape was substituted for one referring to ontucht (“sexual acts that violate social-ethical norms”).[21][22] After serving 13 months of his original four year sentence, he was released from prison.[17] Until 1 July 2024, Dutch law only recognised rape if force was involved.[23]