BUSTED: How an ‘orange leash’ led to collaring of British dog rapist Adam Britton

British animal abuser Adam Britton was brought down by internet detectives, who were alerted by an 'orange leash' in a video of dog torture posted by him before police were able to collar him. 

This clue led Australian police to the Darwin animal shelter owned by crocodile expert Britton, 51, where they also found other chopped-up pets.

On Monday, Britton entered a guilty plea in Darwin's Supreme Court to a number of counts including animal abuse, sexual violence, and possession of materials for child exploitation.

According to testimony given in court, Britton purchased 42 puppies on Gumtree Australia with the intention of sexually abusing them for his own sadistic pleasure.

He frequently obtained the dogs from pet owners who reluctantly gave their animals away due to job obligations.

Between 2020 and 2022, Britton ran two Telegram accounts with the names "monster" and "Cerberus"; the latter was named after a three-headed dog from Greek mythology.

He shared videos of the horrific assaults and discussed animal cruelty and bestiality with other like-minded individuals using the accounts.

But on March 22, 2022, he submitted a terrible video named "1B***h9Pups" to an abusive dark website, which had a hint of his identity and whereabouts and ultimately proved to be the master of his own doom.

An anonymous online user saw the video and identified an orange leash on the adult female dog with the message "great pets start with you", giving details about Britton's connection to it.

The Northern Territory (NT) Animal Welfare Branch was informed of the video by the user via email, and the group then reported the incident to the police.

Britton's home in Mcminns Lagoon, which is located in south Darwin, was raided by NT Police and Australian Federal Police on April 22, one month after he posted the video.

Detectives seized 44 things, including laptops, mobile phones, cameras, external hard drives, tools, guns, dog paraphernalia, and sex toys from there.

According to the prosecution, authorities discovered 15 child abuse-related files on his laptop.

In addition, they discovered a puppy that was dead in a pond on the property, dismembered dog limbs in a freezer, and a severed dog head on an adjacent property.

According to the records, Britton performed the acts on the animals inside a cargo container on his property and frequently visited other areas outside of it.

The documents state that Britton applied for custody of several of the 42 dogs on Gumtree Australia, where he frequently 'established a connection' with the owners who had to 'reluctantly give their pets away due to travel.'

He would film himself hurting the defenceless animals in the container he called his 'torture room' - fitted with recording equipment - and use the Cerberus account to 'upload and disseminate' the sick material online, the court heard. 'Using these applications, the offender discussed his "kill count",' prosecutor Marty Aust said.

In 114 online postings, he explained how he got the animals, how he abused them, and how he got rid of their bodies.

The court also heard that for almost a decade, he sexually assaulted his own Swiss Shepherd pets, Ursa and Bolt, before turning to Gumtree Australia to find other dogs to slaughter.

According to the prosecution, Britton has had a "sadistic sexual interest" in animals, particularly dogs, at least since 2014.

In addition, he admitted guilt on four counts of downloading and transmitting child abuse material, including videos showing young children being sexually violated.