Zoologist Adam Britton faces 249 years in prison for raping and killing over 60 dogs

The final hearing in the case of zoologist Adam Britton, a British crocodile expert, was adjourned on Thursday after his lawyer submitted a new report to the judge. The court will now hear the case in August.

According to the Mirror, Britton – accused of rape, torture and killing dozens of dogs – faces 249 years in prison in Australia. Last year, Britton pleaded guilty to over 60 counts of animal cruelty.

On Thursday, Northern Territory Supreme Court Judge Michael Grant asked his staff and animal rights activists to leave the courtroom before the hearing began, the report said.

“In my opinion, the material can cause nervous shock or another psychological disorder,” he said, according to ABC. The judge described the act as “grotesque animal cruelty.”

While people were waiting for the final verdict, his lawyer submitted a new report and asked the judge to review it. The report in question spoke about his current mental state after he was “treated by a psychologist for nearly 30 hours” in prison, the report added.

“Remorse is considered evidence of the prospect of rehabilitation, as is insight. These are things that may not be present in the first conversation with someone in a professional capacity. They are things that often develop over the course of treatment. They are not set in stone,” Britton’s lawyer was quoted as saying.

The lawyer asked for a reduced sentence for his client, adding: “This is a person who has suffered from an illness since early childhood… It is not his fault. It is significant, Your Honour, that this particular illness is a taboo subject in most societies and the court can, I hope, accept that it would have been very difficult to grow up with it and to learn to deal with it as an adult.”

What is the case?

According to an ABC report, he tortured dogs and beat them to death in his home in Darwin, Australia, and filmed the cruelty.

The report further stated that Britton had a “torture room” – a shipping container – in which he sexually abused the dogs.

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